General
Border Closure: Nigeria’s Fuel Consumption Drops 30%
By Dipo Olowookere
The federal government has listed some of the gains achieved so far with the closure of the nation’s land borders in four geo-political zones of the country.
Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, during a visit to the Seme Border in Lagos, said few of the gains include higher import revenue, lower domestic fuel consumption and increased rice production by local farmers.
He was accompanied to the town bordering Nigeria with Benin Republic by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama; Minister of Interior, Mr Rauf Aregbesola; Minister of State for Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mr Clement Agba; National Security Adviser, Mr Babagana Monguno; and the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Mr Muhammed Babandede.
Since the closure, the monthly import revenue has increased by 15 percent, instead of dropping as expected in many quarters, while the local consumption of fuel has dropped by 30 percent, apparently due to reduced smuggling of the products to neighbouring countries, Mr Mohammed said.
The Minister also said the closure has so far curbed the smuggling of foreign rice into the country, in addition to other prohibited items.
“’There has been an enhanced production and milling of Nigerian rice. Patronage of Nigerian rice has also increased and farmers are expanding their farms as well as engaging more hands,” he said.
The Minister put the value of items seized since the closure at over N3.5 billion, listing such items as including 38,743 of 50kg bags of parboiled foreign rice, 514 vehicles; 1,012 drums filled with PMS, 5,400 Jerrycans of vegetable oil; 346 motorcycles, 10,553 Jerrycans of PMS; and 136 bags of NPK fertilizer used for making explosives.
He also said 296 illegal immigrants have been arrested.
“It is important to note that 95 percent of illicit drugs and weapons that are being used for acts of terrorism and kidnapping in Nigeria today come in through our porous borders.
“However, since this partial closure, these acts have been drastically reduced. Our conclusion is that the arms and ammunition these terrorists and criminal elements were using no longer gain access into the country. In addition, the importation of the drugs which affect the well-being of Nigerians have equally been reduced,” Mr Mohammed said
He said Benin and Niger were not yet doing enough to ameliorate the challenges that led to the border closure, adding that the magnitude of seizures and the number of illegal immigrants recorded in the last two weeks alone confirm this assertion.
“As we speak, we have ships loaded with rice waiting to discharge (in Benin) and the target market is Nigeria (for Christmas). We have (MV Africana Jacana with 40,000 metric tons of rice, MV Zilos with 20,000 mts and MV Sam Jarguar with 45,000 MTS and others,” the Minister said.
He said the border closure would not have occurred if Nigeria’s neighbours had complied with the various MOUs as well as the ECOWAS transit protocols, including the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS).
“Discussions on doing legitimate trade between Nigeria on one hand and Benin and Niger on the other, started in 2005. The discussions have led to MOUs in 2005, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, all designed to facilitating free movement of goods manufactured in their respective countries and work out the modalities through the Ministers of Trade of both countries for the realization of this objectives.
“It worth noting that there has never been legitimate transit trade between Nigeria and the two countries (Benin and Niger). For clarity, the ECOWAS protocol on transit demands that when a transit container berths at a seaport, the receiving country is mandated to escort same without tampering with the seal to the border of the destination country. Unfortunately, experience has shown that our neighbours do not comply with this protocol.
“Rather, they break the seals of containers at their ports and trans-load goods destined for Nigeria from the original container to trucks. In most cases five containers loaded onto one truck and duty paid as one truck. This improper trans-loading of transit goods makes it impossible to properly examine such goods, resulting in importation of illicit goods, including arms and ammunition, without being detected. Because goods are not examined, mis-classification and resultant loss of revenue become the ultimate consequence of this illegitimate transit trade,” the Minister said.
He said Exercise Swift Response, the joint border security exercise which was launched 20 Aug. 2019, has provided a unique platform for the various participating agencies to jointly operate, thereby strengthening inter-agency collaboration and reducing animosity.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that the latest United States airstrikes on Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) targets in northwest Nigeria were conducted at the request of the Nigerian government.
According to reports, the US struck at ISWAP targets in Jabo, Sokoto State, on Christmas night.
The ministry described the operation as a product of established counterterrorism cooperation between both countries.
In a press statement issued on Friday, the Ministry said the strikes were “undertaken following formal engagement and with the full knowledge and coordination of the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
“The Government of Nigeria wishes to clarify that the airstrikes conducted by the United States against Islamic State elements in parts of northwest Nigeria were carried out at the request of Nigerian authorities and in line with existing bilateral security cooperation frameworks,” the statement said.
The Ministry stressed that Nigeria “remains firmly in control of all counterterrorism operations within its sovereign territory,” adding that international partners only provide support “where such assistance aligns with Nigeria’s national security objectives.”
According to the statement, the strikes form part of Nigeria’s broader strategy to “degrade terrorist capabilities, disrupt logistics networks, and protect civilian populations from violent extremist threats.”
The Foreign Ministry further emphasised that the federal government “will continue to work with trusted international partners to confront terrorism, banditry, and transnational criminal networks that threaten national and regional stability.”
Reacting to concerns around sovereignty, the Ministry said:
“At no time was Nigeria’s sovereignty compromised. All actions were conducted with due respect for Nigeria’s laws, institutions, and command structures.”
The statement also cautioned against mischaracterising Nigeria’s security challenges, noting that extremist violence “has affected communities across religious and ethnic lines and should not be framed in sectarian terms.”
Nigeria reaffirmed its commitment to a multi-layered response combining military operations, intelligence sharing, community engagement, and socio-economic interventions, adding that counterterrorism efforts remain focused on protecting lives and restoring stability.
The US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said the strikes were carried out in Sokoto State and that multiple militants were killed.
US President Donald Trump described the strikes as “powerful and deadly,” saying they were directed at Islamic State militants responsible for violent attacks on Christians in Nigeria.
The Nigerian government has clearly denied that only Christians are affected by the killings, saying the terror spread across all faiths.
Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has warned that “more to come” as part of sustained efforts against extremist groups.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The United States government gave some terrorists in Nigeria a Christmas gift that sent many of them to the great beyond.
On Thursday, December 25, 2025, the United States President, Mr Donald Trump, directed his country’s military to launch air strikes on camps of members of the dreaded Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Sokoto State.
According to Mr Trump, the military action, which he threatened to carry out a few weeks ago if the Nigerian government does not stop the killing of Christians in the country, occurred on Thursday night.
“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!
“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was.
“The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.
“Under my leadership, our country will not allow radical islamic terrorism to prosper. May God bless our military, and Merry Christmas to all, including the dead terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
In a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Department of War of the United States posted the below video of the air strikes;
https://twitter.com/DeptofWar/status/2004351717131903272
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The presidency has reacted to speculations that Mr Femi Gbajabiamila has been removed as the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu.
It was alleged that Mr Gbajabiamila has been replaced with the President’s Principal Private Secretary, Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola.
Mr Muri-Okunola went to Abuja to take up this role after leaving as the Head of Service of the Lagos State Civil Service.
Reacting to the reports on social media on the purported removal of Mr Gbajabiamila, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, the presidency said no such change has been made.
In a statement signed on Thursday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, members of the public were advised to disregard the report as “there is absolutely no truth to this story.”
“The Chief of Staff remains in his position. The Principal Private Secretary likewise remains in his role. Hakeem Muri-Okunola has not replaced Femi Gbajabiamila as Chief of Staff.
“The viral claim is a fabrication by mischievous purveyors of fake news whose sole aim is to create disharmony within the government.
“We reiterate that news media should always verify their information before publishing or sharing on social media,” the statement said.
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