Bola Tinubu, the newly elected president of Nigeria, has not reopened all the land borders that were closed by his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari.
This is according to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), which debunked a viral video claiming that Tinubu had ordered the opening of all land borders.
Buhari had shut down all land borders in 2019 to curb the illegal importation of some goods, such as foreign rice, firearms and others.
The border closure was criticized by many Nigerians and neighboring countries as a violation of free trade and regional integration agreements.
Two years later, Buhari reopened some of the land borders, but others remained closed until further notice.
The NCS said that only the Idiroko border with Benin Republic was reopened in 2022, while other approved borders in Ogun State, such as Ijofin, Imeko, Ijoun and Ohunbe, were still under lock and key.
The NCS Controller, Bamidele Makinde, said that Tinubu had not issued any directive to reopen all land borders.
He said that Tinubu’s administration would come up with its own policies on border management and trade facilitation. He added that customs officers were public servants who implemented government policies and not politicians.
Makinde urged the public to disregard the old video that was being circulated on social media with a false caption.
He said that the video showed him opening the barricades at the Idiroko border in 2022, when Buhari’s administration decided to reopen some of the land borders.
He also warned that anyone who did business in the closed borders would have their goods seized by the NCS. He said that Idiroko border was the only one that was open 24/7 for legitimate trade and movement of people.
