Nigeria's Presidency disputes Atiku Abubakar's pledge to 'open the borders'

Nigeria's Presidency has directly challenged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar's campaign pledge to "open the borders" should he be elected president, asserting that the country's land borders are already operational.

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The facts are straightforward: Nigeria’s land borders are already open.

The Presidency, through a statement released on Friday by Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, titled "Atiku and the Borders: Nigerians Deserve Facts, Not Campaign Slogans," argued that Abubakar's promise is misleading. The statement highlighted that the Federal Government had already reopened most of the nation's land borders on March 14, 2024, and this decision remains in effect.

"The facts are straightforward: Nigeria’s land borders are already open," the statement declared. It further pointed to President Tinubu's action on February 14, 2026, when he opened the Kamba borders in Kebbi State, noting the subsequent economic and diplomatic benefits.

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It is therefore difficult to understand which borders the former Vice President intends to ‘open’ when the borders are already open. On February 14, 2026, President Tinubu opened the Kamba borders in Kebbi State, with attendant economic and diplomatic gains.

The Presidency questioned the specific borders Abubakar intends to open, asking for clarification on which existing controls he plans to relax. It stressed the need for Nigerians to understand the rationale behind such proposed changes and the safeguards that would be put in place to prevent terrorism, arms trafficking, smuggling, and other transnational organized crimes. The statement emphasized that an open border does not equate to an uncontrolled border, underscoring the importance of modern border management systems that balance legitimate trade and movement with security.

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If he means he would relax existing border controls, then Nigerians deserve to know precisely which controls he intends to remove, why he considers their removal necessary, and what safeguards his administration would deploy against terrorism, arms trafficking, smuggling, human trafficking, and other forms of transnational organised crime.

Furthermore, the Presidency linked border security to Nigeria's broader security environment, particularly concerning developments in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin regions. It noted that porous borders can be exploited by criminal and terrorist organizations, posing a significant challenge given the region's ongoing struggles with terrorism and violent extremism.

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An open border is not an uncontrolled border. Modern border management is designed to facilitate legitimate movement, trade and economic interaction while preventing criminals and terrorist organisations from exploiting the same channels.