Presidency Fires Back at Atiku: Borders Are Already Open

The Presidency has hit back at former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his promise to reopen Nigeria’s land borders if elected president in 2027, declaring that the borders are already open.

Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, described Atiku’s claim as misleading, insisting that the Federal Government reopened most land borders on March 14, 2024.

Dare’s reaction followed Atiku’s recent pledge to “open the borders” upon assuming office.

In a statement titled “Atiku and the borders: Nigerians deserve facts, not campaign slogans,” the presidential aide questioned which borders the ADC presidential candidate intended to reopen.

“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’,” Dare said.

He challenged Atiku to explain whether his proposal was to relax existing border controls and, if so, specify the measures he would remove.

Dare also demanded details of the security framework Atiku would put in place to prevent terrorism, arms trafficking, smuggling, human trafficking and other transnational crimes.

The presidential aide pointed to President Tinubu’s reopening of the Kamba border in Kebbi State on February 14, 2026, saying the decision had delivered economic and diplomatic benefits.

He stressed that having open borders does not mean allowing uncontrolled movement, arguing that responsible border management must facilitate legitimate trade while protecting national security.

According to Dare, effective border management requires immigration and customs controls, intelligence-sharing, surveillance, technology and coordinated security operations.

He further warned that Nigeria’s border security cannot be separated from the wider security situation in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin.

Nigeria shares borders with Niger, Chad and Cameroon, while the region continues to battle terrorism, violent extremism and organised cross-border crime, he noted.

Dare said the concentration of security forces along Nigeria’s Northeast and Northwest corridors should not be mistaken for a closure of the country’s borders.

Rather, he described the deployment as part of efforts to secure vulnerable border areas and prevent terrorists and criminal networks from exploiting them.

He urged presidential contenders to move beyond campaign slogans and provide Nigerians with concrete 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.

He added that Nigeria’s borders must remain accessible to legitimate commerce and movement while being sufficiently secured against terrorists and criminals.

Dare said the Tinubu administration would continue to welcome scrutiny and urged Nigerians to assess the government on measurable outcomes in security, economic recovery, border management and citizens’ welfare.