BabandedeAdamu Yakubu is Nigerien national trading on petty items in Kano. The 35-year-old foreigner explained to The Guardian how he came into Nigeria seven years ago without any document. Yakubu narrated how he usually bailed himself out at the Nigerian borders with N3, 000 or more to immigration officers at the entry point.
Nasiru Mohammad, a Chadian also residing in Kano, has lived there for several years. He shared a similar experience with Yakubu at the Nigerian border. “It is not difficult to get access into Nigeria with or without a passport as much as you are ready to settle the officers at the borders,” Mohammed said.
Investigations by Daily Trust show a spike in cases of banditry, kidnapping, ethnic conflicts, cult clashes, among others, with perpetrators relying on increased availability of small arms, according to experts.
Nigeria occupies an area of 923,768 square kilometers, extending to 1,127 km east-west and 1,046 km north-south. It is bordered by Chad on the north-east, Cameroon on the east, Gulf of Guinea on the south, Benin Republic on the west and Niger on the north-west.
With a total boundary length of 4,900 km, of which 853 km is coastline, the country’s borders with Benin and Chad are 773km and 87km long respectively, while those with Niger and Cameroon span 1, 497km and 1 690km respectively.