The Presidency has dismissed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s recent pledge to “open the borders” upon assuming office, stating that Nigeria’s land borders are already open and have been since March 2024.
In a press statement issued on Friday, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, described Atiku’s declaration as disconnected from factual reality, noting that the Federal Government reopened most land borders on 14 March 2024 and has not reversed that position.
“The facts are straightforward: Nigeria’s land borders are already open,” Dare stated. “It is therefore difficult to understand which borders the former Vice President intends to ‘open’ when the borders are already open.”
The Presidency further noted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inaugurated the Kamba borders in Kebbi State on 14 February 2026, delivering tangible economic and diplomatic dividends.
If Atiku’s proposal refers to relaxing existing border controls, Dare argued, Nigerians deserve a detailed explanation of which specific controls would be removed, the rationale for their removal, and what security mechanisms would be deployed to safeguard against terrorism, arms trafficking, smuggling, human trafficking, and transnational organised crime.
The statement emphasised that an open border is not synonymous with an uncontrolled border, pointing to the distinction as fundamental to responsible governance. Modern border management, it noted, facilitates legitimate trade and movement while preventing criminal and terrorist elements from exploiting porous entry points.
Citing the Global Terrorism Index 2026, the Presidency highlighted that approximately 41 per cent of terrorist attacks occur within 50 kilometres of an international border, and about 64 per cent within 100 kilometres. This reality, the statement said, compels Nigeria to maintain robust border surveillance, intelligence-sharing, and coordinated security operations, particularly across the Northeast and Northwest corridors.
The Presidency also took a sharper tone toward the former Vice President, describing him as “unhinged” and accusing him of making reckless pronouncements to deceive the politically gullible. While acknowledging the legitimacy of political contestation, the statement insisted that national security discourse must be anchored in facts and institutional understanding.
Nigerians, the Presidency maintained, are entitled to more than campaign slogans from presidential aspirants. Atiku, it argued, should present a credible, detailed alternative policy agenda covering border surveillance, technology deployment, customs modernisation, regional cooperation, and protection of border communities—rather than promising to reopen what is already open.
“Nigeria’s borders must be open to legitimate commerce and movement, but secure against terrorists and criminals. They must be monitored with technology, led by intelligence, and integrated into the country’s broader national-security and economic strategy. That is the policy conversation Nigerians deserve,” the statement concluded.
Discussion about this post