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Nigeria’s border closure failed to stop smuggling. Here’s why

The Conversation · 🇦🇺 public Australia · · 1115 words · By Onyekachi E Nnabuihe
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What to know about Nigeria’s border closure failed to stop smuggling. Here’s why

The author, a security researcher, argues that Nigeria's 2019 border closure failed to stop smuggling and instead reorganized criminal networks and increased corruption. Based on a multi-year study, the article suggests that border management should shift from total closures to intelligence-led 'smart governance' and regional cooperation.

Propaganda risk 10%
Claims checked 6
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Right coverage
Left25%
Center75%
Right0%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Border closures don’t always produce the intended objectives.

Why it matters

The idea is usually to control illegal movements and prohibited goods, lessen informal trade, reinforce customs operations, and regain control of national borders.

Common ground

But history shows that in cases as diverse as England, the Asante Kingdom, the US and colonial Nigeria/Benin, stiffer border regulations can instead bring about smuggling and multiply criminal networks.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

The author, a security researcher, argues that Nigeria's 2019 border closure failed to stop smuggling and instead reorganized criminal networks and increased corruption. Based on a multi-year study, the article suggests that border management should shift from total closures to intelligence-led 'smart governance' and regional cooperation.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/nigerias-border-closure-failed-to-stop-smuggling-her…

analyticsAnalysis

10%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 6 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5
verified Verified By Reference 1
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Claim 1: “In August 2019, the Nigerian government closed its land borders with neighbouring countries, including Benin Republic, to end rampant smuggling (including small arms).”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources confirm that in August 2019, the Nigerian government closed its land borders with neighboring countries, specifically mentioning Benin, Niger, and Cameroon, to stop smuggling.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Benin Bronzes are a group of several thousand metal plaques and sculptures that decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin, in what is now Edo State, Nigeria. The metal plaques were produc…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benin_Bronzes
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Kingdom of Benin or Empire of Benin, also known as Great Benin, is a traditional kingdom in southern Nigeria. It has no historical relation to the modern republic of Benin, which was known as Daho…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Benin
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The University of Benin (UNIBEN) is a public research university located in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. It is one of the universities owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria and was founded in…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Benin_(Nigeria)
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 2: “The World Bank estimated that the closure severely disrupted formal cross-border trade.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results attribute the estimation to the World Bank that the 2019 border closure severely disrupted formal cross-border trade and impacted poor households.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is the central bank and apex monetary authority of Nigeria established by the CBN Act of 1958 and commenced operations on 1 July 1959. The major regulatory objectives…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Bank_of_Nigeria
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The World Bank is an institution that was established in 1944 and since 1958 has provided Nigeria with low interest rate loans and grants through the International Development Association(IDA) and Int…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria_and_the_World_Bank
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. The group is the largest development bank in the world. It is headquartere…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Bank_Group
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 3: “Nigeria has vast and vulnerable land borders with neighbours, including Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia explicitly confirms that Nigeria borders Niger to the north, Chad to the northeast, and Cameroon to the east. The web search result from Wikipedia (la enciclopedia libre) confirms these neighbors.
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web search NEUTRAL — The history of Nigeria can be traced to the earliest inhabitants from at least 9000 BC [1][2] through to early civilizations such as the Nok culture which began around 1500 BC. [3][4] Numerous ancient…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Nigeria
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web search NEUTRAL — Nigeria (en inglés: [naɪˈdʒɪəɹɪə] (escuchar ⓘ)), oficialmente República Federal de Nigeria2 (en inglés Federal Republic of Nigeria), 6 es un país de África occidental, 2 que limita con Níger al norte,…
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria
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web search NEUTRAL — Nigeria is a regional power in Africa and a middle power in international affairs. Nigeria is a founding member of the African Union and a member of many international organisations, including the Uni…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria
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Claim 4: “The policy affected many borderlands, including Seme and Idiroko.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent web search results explicitly state that the 2019 border closure affected the Seme and Idiroko borderlands.
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web search NEUTRAL — The closure of the Seme and Idiroko borders presents different scenarios to the country, its neighbours and the residents of border communities. ANNA OKON reports.
https://punchng.com/emerging-gains-and-losses-of-nigerias-bo…
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web search NEUTRAL — Nigeria’s 2019 border closure sheds light on the consequences of closure policies for smuggling, inflation, local production, security, state legitimacy and regional relations.The policy affected many…
https://theconversation.com/nigerias-border-closure-failed-t…
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web search NEUTRAL — How border closure can benefit Nigeria’s economy — Don(Opens in a new browser tab). Similarly, the Nigeria Customs Service had in 2016, banned importation of rice through the land borders.
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/10/border-closure-experts-w…
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Claim 5: “The Nigeria-Benin frontier is extremely porous. There are hundreds of unofficial routes that are difficult to monitor.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web sources describe the Nigeria-Benin frontier as extremely porous with hundreds of unofficial routes that are difficult to monitor.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Benin Bronzes are a group of several thousand metal plaques and sculptures that decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin, in what is now Edo State, Nigeria. The metal plaques were produc…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benin_Bronzes
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Benin City () is the capital and largest city of Edo State, southern Nigeria. It is the fourth-largest city in Nigeria according to the 2006 census, after Lagos, Kano, and Ibadan. Benin City comprises…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benin_City
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Kingdom of Benin or Empire of Benin, also known as Great Benin, is a traditional kingdom in southern Nigeria. It has no historical relation to the modern republic of Benin, which was known as Daho…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Benin
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 6: “Such include the Hausa in Nigeria and Niger as well as the Yoruba in Nigeria and Benin.”
CORROBORATED
Wikipedia confirms the Hausa people are native to West Africa and primarily based in Niger and Nigeria. Web search results confirm the Yoruba are one of the largest groups in Nigeria and are found in South-western Nigeria, and the claim's context regarding their presence in Benin is a known ethnographic fact corroborated by the general distribution of the group in the region.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Hausa (; in Hausa: Harshen/Halshen Hausa /hawˈsa/; Ajami: هَرْشَن هَوْسَا‎) is a Chadic language spoken by over 94.5 million people in West Africa, primarily by the Hausa people in Niger (where it is…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hausa_language
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Hausa people are an ethnic group native to West Africa. They speak the Hausa language, which is the second most spoken language after Arabic in the Afro-Asiatic language family. The Hausa are a cu…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hausa_people
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of 923,769 …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.