The Presidency has dismissed former Vice President and ADC presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar’s claim that Nigeria’s borders are closed, describing it as misleading and insisting that the land borders remain open.
The Presidency said the Federal Government reopened most land borders on March 14, 2024, and had not reversed the decision.
This is contained in a statement titled “Atiku and the borders: Nigerians deserve facts, not campaign slogans”, issued by Mr Sunday Dare, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, in Abuja.
Dare was reacting to Atiku’s recent declaration that he would “open the borders” immediately upon assuming office.
“The facts are straightforward: Nigeria’s land borders are already open. It is therefore difficult to understand which borders the former Vice President intends to ‘open’.”
He said that if Atiku intended to relax existing border controls, Nigerians deserved to know which controls he would remove and why.
He also asked the former Vice President to explain the safeguards he would deploy against terrorism, arms trafficking, smuggling, human trafficking and other transnational crimes.
Dare noted that President Bola Tinubu had, on Feb. 14, 2026, opened the Kamba border in Kebbi State, with attendant economic and diplomatic benefits.
“The distinction between an open border and an uncontrolled border is fundamental to responsible national security and economic policy,” he said.
Dare said modern border management was designed to facilitate legitimate movement, trade and economic interaction while preventing criminals and terrorist organisations from exploiting the same channels.
“Effective border governance requires immigration control, customs administration, intelligence-sharing, surveillance, technology and coordinated security operations,” he said.
The presidential aide said Nigeria’s northern security environment could not be divorced from developments across the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin.
He noted that Nigeria shares borders with Niger, Chad and Cameroon, making cooperation with neighbouring countries essential to addressing transnational security threats.
“As Atiku rightly acknowledged, Nigeria shares borders with Niger, Chad and Cameroon. The region continues to confront terrorism, violent extremism and transnational organised crime.”
Dare said criminal networks could exploit porous borders to move people, weapons and other illicit materials across countries.
Citing the Global Terrorism Index 2026, he said about 41 per cent of terrorist attacks occurred within 50 kilometres of international borders.
He added that about 64 per cent of such attacks occurred within 100 kilometres of international borders.
“The security reality is compelling. Borderlands are particularly vulnerable where difficult terrain, limited state presence and weak coordination create opportunities for terrorist organisations.”
Dare said Nigeria’s focus on security along the Northeast and Northwest corridors should not be interpreted as evidence that the country’s borders were closed.
He described the coordinated deployment of the Armed Forces and other security agencies along the corridors as responsible border security measures.
“Effective border management is an indispensable component of national security as domestic insurgencies evolve into increasingly networked and transnational terrorist threats,” he said.
Dare said political contestation was legitimate in a democracy, but statements on national security and the economy should be based on facts.
“Statements about national security and the Nigerian economy should be grounded in facts, institutional understanding and a credible alternative policy agenda,” he said.
He challenged presidential aspirants to present detailed plans for border surveillance, intelligence-sharing, customs and immigration operations, technology and regional security cooperation.
“What Nigerians deserve is not a slogan about ‘opening borders,’ but a detailed explanation of how border surveillance and security would be improved.”
Dare said such plans should also address the protection of border communities and the facilitation of legitimate commerce and movement.
He said the Tinubu administration remains open to scrutiny and should be assessed based on measurable outcomes in security, economic recovery, border management and citizens’ welfare.
“Nigeria’s borders must be open to legitimate commerce and movement, but secure against terrorists and criminals,” Dare said.
He added that borders must be monitored with technology, guided by intelligence and integrated into Nigeria’s broader national security and economic strategy.
“That is the policy conversation Nigerians deserve,” he emphasised.
