The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu said that the Federal Government might be forced to close its borders again if neighbouring countries don’t cooperated with Nigeria to curtail the influx of bandits and small weapons which he claimed are fueling the insecurity.
KanyiDaily recalls that President Buhari had in August 2019 ordered the closure of the borders to check the menace of smuggling goods and arms and ammunition into the country and protect local businesses.
On Wednesday, December 16, 2020, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, announced that President Buhari approved the immediate reopening of the four borders while other borders would be reopened hopefully before December 31, 2020.
While Speaking on Channels TV programme on Tuesday, Garba Shehu said the government is studying activities at four of the nation’s land borders which were reopened last week, adding that it might be closed again if there is any “trouble”.
“This is why the president considered the closure of the land borders for much of this time until they were reopened a week or so ago.
“This country has been talking to our neighbours, asking them that they cooperate with us in order to stop this influx of bandits, weapons, drugs and trafficking of Nigerian women but the cooperation has not measured up to the expectation of the president.
“This is why he was forced by the necessity of the situation to shut down the borders.
“Now, we are reopening in the hope that the agreement we struck with them, that they will work hand in hand with our own security agencies, with our own customs, on a trial basis, because not all entry points have been reopened. It will be tried, if it works well, then others will be reopened. If there is trouble, then the government may have a rethink.”
“It is the technical committee that will advise the government on how well things are working now that we have reopened four points out of the numerous that we have,” Shehu added.
KanyiDaily recalls that Garba Shehu had earlier said that herdsmen must be stopped from roaming around freely and destroying crops across the country.
