President Bola Tinubu has issued directives for the reopening of Nigeria’s land and air borders with the Republic of Niger, along with the immediate lifting of other sanctions against the country.
A statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, titled ‘Nigeria opens land and air borders with Republic of Niger, lifts other sanctions,’ announced the decision.
Tinubu’s directive aligns with the recent actions of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, which lifted economic and travel sanctions on Niger, Mali, and Guinea during its extraordinary summit on February 24, 2024, in Abuja.
The ECOWAS leaders collectively agreed to lift economic sanctions against several countries, including the Republic of Niger.
In light of this, President Tinubu has instructed the immediate lifting of various sanctions imposed on Niger, including:
– Closure of land and air borders between Nigeria and Niger Republic, as well as the ECOWAS no-fly zone on all commercial flights to and from Niger Republic.
– Suspension of all commercial and financial transactions between Nigeria and Niger, as well as freezing all service transactions, including utility services and electricity to the Niger Republic.
– Freeze 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.
– Suspension of Niger from all financial assistance and transactions with all financial institutions, particularly EBID and BOAD.
– Travel bans on government officials and their family members.
