General
Nigeria Moves to Reopen Border, Lists Conditions
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government of Nigeria has given certain conditions that fellow members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) must fullfil before the nation’s land borders can be reopened.
In August 2019, the Nigerian authorities shut down all its land borders as part of its determination to curb smuggling. Since this step was taken, Nigeria has come under heavy criticisms and complaints from importers, investors and some of the neighboring countries, who argued that the move was too abrupt.
On Monday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, during the meeting of inter-ministerial committee on the temporary partial closure of land borders held in Abuja, listed that certain conditions must be met before a rethink can be considered.
He said, “Any import coming from outside an ECOWAS region and imported into an ECOWAS member state must maintain its original packaging.
“They must be escorted from the port directly to the designated entry point in the Nigerian border, presented to the Nigerian customs with their original packaging. Compromises will not be tolerated.
“Goods produced predominantly in ECOWAS member states must satisfy the ECOWAS rules of origin to avoid any possibility of downplay.
“Goods must be majorly produced in ECOWAS countries.
“If the goods are coming from outside ECOWAS, the value addition must be over 30 percent for it to be accepted within the framework of the Economic Trade Liberalisation Scheme that ECOWAS countries have to promote trade among them.
“All warehouses along the shared borders of Nigeria must be dismantled.
“Goods being transported must be put in proper recognized packaging. No longer will we have goods of all shapes and sizes going through the borders. To maintain the best practices of those goods, an accepted condition for packaging will be established.
“In regards to free movements of persons, all persons moving through Nigerian borders must present themselves through recognized entry points and must have recognized travel documents (country passport).”
The minister then added that a tripartite meeting with bordered countries will hold in a fortnight to discuss mode of implementation of these conditions.
Within the next two weeks, a tripartite committee is to be convened and hosted here in Nigeria comprising a delegation, a committee of Benin Republic, from Niger, and from Nigeria.
“Each country will come with the heads of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Finance, the Customs, Immigration and NIA, the security segment.” he said.
Mr Onyeama said the President Buhari led administration wanted the issue resolved as quickly as possible.
Business Post understands that prices of commodities have increased following the decision of the government to close the borders.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections will take place on Saturday, February 20, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed.
In a notice for the 2027 general polls issued on Friday, the electoral umpire also disclosed that the governorship and state assembly elections for next year would be on Saturday, March 6.
Speaking at a news briefing in Abuja today, the chairman of INEC, Mr Joash Amupitan, expressed the readiness of the commission to conduct the polls next year, which is 12 months away.
The timetable issued by the organisation for the polls comes when the federal parliament has yet to transmit the amended electoral bill to President Bola Tinubu for assent.
This week, the Senate passed the electoral bill, reducing the notice of elections from 360 days to 180 days, while the transmission of results was mandated with a proviso.
Recall that on February 4, INEC said it was ready to go ahead with preparations for the elections despite the delay in the passage of the amended electoral law of 2022.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The pipeline network of the NNPC Gas Infrastructure Company Limited (NGIC) will witness a temporary reduction in gas supply for four days.
This information was revealed by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mr Andy Odeh, in a statement on Thursday night.
A key supplier of gas into the NGIC pipeline network is Seplat Energy Plc, a joint venture partner of the state-owned oil agency.
It was disclosed that the facility would undergo routine maintenance from Thursday. February 12 to Sunday, February 15, 2026.
The NNPC stated that, “This planned activity forms part of standard industry safety and asset integrity protocols designed to ensure the continued reliability, efficiency, and safe operation of critical gas infrastructure.”
“Periodic maintenance of this nature is essential to sustain optimal system performance, strengthen operational resilience, and minimise the risk of unplanned outages,” it added.
“During the four-day maintenance period, there will be a temporary reduction in gas supply into the NGIC pipeline network. As a result, some power generation companies reliant on this supply may experience reduced gas availability, which could modestly impact electricity generation levels within the timeframe.
“NNPC Ltd and Seplat Energy are working closely to ensure that the maintenance is executed safely and completed as scheduled. In parallel, NNPC Gas Marketing Limited (NGML) is engaging alternative gas suppliers to mitigate anticipated supply gaps and maintain stability across the network,” the statement further said.
“Upon completion of the maintenance exercise, full gas supply into the NGIC system is expected to resume promptly, enabling affected power generation companies to return to normal operations,” it concluded.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has recused himself from the two cases involving the former Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami, filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Mr Egwuatu was recently reassigned the cases by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, and he disclosed that he withdrew for personal reasons and in the interest of justice.
The cases against Mr Malami were formerly before Justice Emeka Nwite of the same court, who was a vacation judge during the festive season.
Mr Egwuatu’s recusal comes after the civil suit for the forfeiture of 57 properties allegedly linked to Mr Malami was called for mention.
The former AGF, his wife, and son are facing a 16-count money laundering charge. They were granted bail on January 7 in the sum of N500 million with two sureties by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Justice Nwite stated that the sureties must have landed property in Asokoro, Maitama, and Gwarinpa.
The judge added that the trio must submit their travel documents to the court.
The former Minister of Justice is facing a fresh persecution over the arms and ammunition found in his house by the Department of State Service (DSS). The arms were reportedly uncovered at his Kebbi country home by the operatives of the EFCC during a search.
The anti-graft agency handed the weapon to the secret police for a comprehensive probe, citing a lack of constitutional authority to investigate the possession.
Similarly, the former AGF was accused of knowingly abetting terrorism financing by refusing to prosecute terrorism financiers whose case files were brought to his office as the AGF in the last administration for prosecution. Alongside his son, the lawyer was accused by the DSS of engaging in conduct in preparation to commit an act of terrorism by having in their possession and without a licence, a Sturm Magnum 17-0101 firearm, 16 Redstar AAA 5’20 live rounds of Cartridges and 27 expended Redstar AAA 5’20 Cartridges.
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