Sunday Dare says Nigeria’s land borders are already open, but warns that security controls remain necessary to tackle terrorism, smuggling and organised crime

The Presidency has criticised former Vice President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar over his pledge to “open the borders” if elected President, insisting that Nigeria’s land borders are already open.

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The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, made the position known in a statement issued on Friday titled, “Atiku and the Borders: Nigerians Deserve Facts, Not Campaign Slogans.”

Dare said the Federal Government reopened most of Nigeria’s land borders on March 14, 2024, and had not reversed the decision.

“The facts are straightforward: Nigeria’s land borders are already open,” the Presidency said.

The statement added that President Tinubu had also opened the Kamba border in Kebbi State on February 14, 2026, describing the development as having delivered economic and diplomatic benefits.

The Presidency therefore questioned which borders Atiku intended to open if he was referring to Nigeria’s existing land crossings.

“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,” the statement said.

Open borders, not uncontrolled borders

The Presidency stressed that reopening borders did not amount to removing security measures.

It argued that modern border management was intended to allow legitimate movement and trade while preventing criminal networks and terrorist organisations from exploiting international crossings.

“An open border is not an uncontrolled border,” the Presidency said, adding that effective border governance required immigration controls, customs administration, intelligence-sharing, surveillance, technology and coordinated security operations.

The statement also linked Nigeria’s border policy to the wider security situation in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin.

Nigeria shares land borders with Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin, with the northern and northeastern corridors facing security challenges involving terrorism, violent extremism and organised crime.

The Presidency argued that porous borders could provide channels for criminal networks and terrorist groups to move people, weapons and resources across countries.

Citing the Global Terrorism Index 2026, the statement said about 41 per cent of terrorist attacks occurred within 50 kilometres of an international border, while about 64 per cent occurred within 100 kilometres.

It said the figures demonstrated why border communities required particularly strong security coordination.

“The implications for Nigeria are obvious,” the Presidency said, arguing that as insurgencies became increasingly networked and transnational, effective border management had become an “indispensable component” of national security.

The administration also rejected suggestions that security operations in the Northeast and Northwest indicated that Nigeria’s borders remained closed.

It said the coordinated deployment of the Armed Forces and other security agencies along the corridors reflected efforts to secure the country’s borders rather than restrict legitimate movement.

Presidency seeks details from Atiku

The Presidency challenged Atiku to provide details of the border policy he would pursue if elected in 2027.

Dare said Nigerians deserved more than a broad campaign promise and should be presented with a detailed plan covering border surveillance, intelligence-sharing, customs and immigration modernisation, technology and cooperation with neighbouring countries.

“What Nigerians should reasonably expect from a presidential aspirant is not a slogan about ‘opening borders,’ but a detailed explanation of how his administration would improve border surveillance, strengthen intelligence-sharing with neighbouring states, modernise customs and immigration operations, deploy technology, protect border communities and deepen regional cooperation against terrorism and organised crime,” he said.

The Presidency maintained that border management also had a direct economic dimension because secure crossings were necessary to facilitate legitimate commerce and regional trade.

It said the Tinubu administration remained open to scrutiny and accepted that its performance should be assessed on measurable outcomes.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration remains open to scrutiny and should be judged by measurable outcomes in security, economic recovery, border management and citizens’ welfare. But such scrutiny must be based on facts,” the statement said.

The administration’s position comes as political parties and presidential aspirants increasingly shape their policy messages ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Atiku, who is seeking another opportunity to contest for the presidency, has positioned himself as an opposition voice on several aspects of the Tinubu administration’s policies.

The latest exchange highlights the emerging contest over how Nigeria should balance economic integration and cross-border commerce with security concerns in a region facing persistent terrorism and organised crime.

For the Presidency, the central argument is that Nigeria’s borders should remain open to legitimate travellers and businesses while retaining the security architecture needed to prevent criminal exploitation.

“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,” the statement said.

“That is the policy conversation Nigerians deserve.”

The Presidency ended by questioning whether Atiku had offered a sufficiently distinct policy direction for the 2027 election, accusing the former Vice President of focusing increasingly on reversing or renaming policies associated with the Tinubu administration.

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The exchange is likely to form part of a broader political debate as the 2027 campaign season gathers momentum, with security, economic reform, border management and the direction of Nigeria’s development expected to remain major issues for voters.