Immigration boss Mohammed Babandede has said that the closure of the border is good, as the country cares about its security and economy.
He said this on Monday evening on Newsnight aired on Channels TV.
Babandede said that the closure of the borders was the country’s way of using its political voice.
He also added that the closure of borders was why there was an increased cooperation from neighbouring nations.
The immigration head said that he was delighted that the borders were closed “within the period we closed the borders”, as a number of people have left Nigeria “through the unlawful path”.
He said, “It is good Nigeria closes its borders. It is good Nigeria muzzles up a little bit to show that we are a country and that we care about our security and economy.
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“Nigeria has spoken with a political voice through actions that is why you see greater cooperation from our neighbours.
“I am glad in terms of immigration, within the period we closed the borders, we have received a lot of people who have left our territory through the unlawful path. Those people we have taken to court and prosecuted them.”
In 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered that all the country’s land borders be shut in a bid to curb the perpetration of illegal in the markets.
His directive was met with wide criticisms from experts and citizens, although, that did nothing to overturn the decision, as the borders were reopened on 16 December 2020.
