Tag: Land Borders

‘Poverty, porous borders fueling terrorism in Nigeria’, Experts warn

Aminu Imam
Experts warn

For nearly two decades, Northern Nigeria has faced relentless violence from groups like Boko Haram, bandits, and other insurgents.  Experts attribute the rise of terrorism to factors including poverty, weak governance, and porous borders. Former Director of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, identified Nigeria’s poorly policed borders with Niger, Mali, and Libya as key enablers of extremist movement. He emphasised that socio-economic issues, such as high illiteracy and unemployment, provide fertile ground for radicalization.  Also, Rear-Admiral Babalola (rtd) also cited corruption, inadequate security infrastructure, and cross-border arms smuggling as critical…

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“Govt’ll soon open borders for commercial activities” – Reps. member

Aminu Imam
FG 2 open borders

Nigeria’s borders will soon be opened for commercial activities by the “current administration” of President Bola Tinubu. The lawmaker representing Badagry constituency in the House of Representatives, Sesi Whingah, gave this assurance to his constituents yesterday, during a Badagry Stakeholders and Youth Engagement organised by his office. The engagement had the theme: “Charting A Prosperous Future for Badagry: Unlocking Potential, Empowering People, and Accelerating Progress”. According to the lawmaker, the Government is trying to see how they can mop up revenue internally. He said, “This is a policy that we…

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Customs re-open land border in Kebbi

Aminu Imam

In compliance with the directive of President Bola Tinubu on immediate re-opening of land border with Niger Republic, the Controller, Nigeria Customs Service, Kebbi State Command, Iheanacho Ojike, has re-opened Kamba land border. This was contained in a statement signed by the spokesman of the command, SP Mohammed Saliu, and made available to newsmen yesterday. While re-opening the border, Ojike said Kamba is a strategic border with a major share in Kebbi State revenue-generation. According to him, “The border re-opening was aimed at paving the way for legitimate trade that…

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Food crisis: “Reopen land borders” – Kano Gov. urges Tinubu

Aminu Imam

Kano State governor, Abba Kabir-Yusuf, has urged President Bola Tinubu to open land borders to enhance food security in the country. He stated this during a courtesy visit by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, yesterday in Kano. Kabir-Yusuf, who lamented the harsh economic conditions being experienced by Nigerians, said that re-opening the borders would check inflation and cut prices of food items. “We wish to appreciate the President’s intervention in the on-going National Food Initiative. “He considers Kano as the host for the Initiative, ahead of its planned launch,…

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Niger Coup: ‘N13bn lost weekly due to border closure’ – Northern traders

Aminu Imam

…Urges Tinubu to open border Northern traders have lamented the loss of about N13bn weekly due to the closure of borders in the region over the ongoing crisis in Niger Republic. Recall that President Bola Tinubu had on August 4 ordered the closure of all borders with Niger Republic which the Nigerian Customs have now enforced. The borders include Jibiya, in Katsina State; Illelah, in Sokoto, and Maigatari, in Jigawa State. Addressing a press conference on the matter in Abuja yesterday, the chairman, Arewa Economic Forum, Ibrahim Yahaya Dandakata, said the…

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Sen. Shehu Sani, others urge Tinubu to reopen land borders

Aminu Imam

Former lawmaker, Senator Shehu Sani has called on President Bola Tinubu to reopen all land borders across Nigeria. The former lawmaker representing Kaduna-Central, said this in an interview with Newsmen yesterday. According to him, reopening of the borders was necessary to allow for free trade in line with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) protocol. He opined that the closure of borders over the years, “killed the Nigerian economy”. According to Sani, the development plunged a lot of Nigerians into abject poverty, particularly those at the border communities. He said…

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Food Production: “We made progress shutting borders” – Buhari

Aminu Imam

…Africa to lose $11bn to Russia-Ukraine war ? Adesina President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, rationalised the closure of Nigerian borders, saying that progress was made through the action, which according to him was to encourage local food production. Recall that the President ordered the closure of the country’s land borders in August 2019 to crack down on smuggling. Four of the borders were re-opened in 2020, including the Seme border, in the South-West region; Maigatari and Illela borders, in the North-West, and Mfun borders, in the South-South. Four more were ordered…

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FG approves reopening of four more land borders

Aminu Imam

The Nigeria Customs Service, (NCS), says President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the re-opening of four more land borders. The borders are Idiroko, in Ogun; Jibiya, in Katsina; Kamba, in Kebbi and Ikom, in Cross River States. In August 2019, Nigeria closed its land borders over the proliferation of illegal importation of drugs, small arms and agricultural products into Nigeria from neighbouring West African countries. In 2020, the president ordered the reopening of borders in Seme in Lagos, Illela in Sokoto, Maigatari in Jigawa, and Mfum in Cross River. According to…

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Insecurity: Buhari orders tight security around Nigeria’s land borders

Aminu Imam

Ø  ‘Drug barons funding terrorists, bandits’ – Senate president President Muhammadu Buhari has directed Nigeria Immigration Service, (NIS), to improve surveillance and control around the nation’s borders, in order to checkmate the rising insecurity in the country. A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity, Femi Adesina, said Buhari gave the order in a speech at the virtual commissioning ceremony of the NIS Technology Building in Abuja. According to him, all security agencies must raise their performance in protecting lives and property, with a…

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FG will soon reopen land borders, says Osinbajo

Ishaku Yohanna

The Federal Government is working towards reopening the nation’s land borders after one year they have been closed, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said. Osinbajo gave stated this while speaking during a webinar organised by The Africa Report where he noted that the closure of the country’s land borders was done to protect Nigeria’s economy and enhance security. While stating that the Nigerian Government is committed to the letters of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), he added that Nigeria has started working with its neighbouring countries to work…

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