Nigeria Opens Land And Air Borders With Republic of Niger, Lifts Other Sanctions

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday, March 13, 2024 ordered the opening of Nigeria’s land and air borders with the Republic of Niger and the lifting of other sanctions against the country with immediate effect.

A statement by Chief Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, said the directive was in compliance with the decisions of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government at its extraordinary summit on February 24, 2024, in Abuja.

ECOWAS leaders had agreed to lift economic sanctions against the Republic of Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea.

Accordingly, Tinubu directed that the following sanctions imposed on the Republic of Niger be lifted immediately.

They include closure of land and air borders between Nigeria and Niger Republic, as well as ECOWAS no-fly zone on all commercial flights to and from Niger Republic and the suspension of all commercial and financial transactions between Nigeria and Niger, as well as freeze of all service transactions, including utility services and electricity to Niger Republic.

Others included the freezing of assets of the Republic of Niger in ECOWAS Central Banks and freeze of assets of the Republic of Niger, state enterprises, and parastatals in commercial banks as well as the suspension of Niger from all financial assistance and transactions with all financial institutions, particularly EBID and BOAD.

Also lifted was the travel bans on government officials and their family members.

Similarly, President Tinubu has also approved the lifting of financial and economic sanctions against the Republic of Guinea.