Nigeria to Temporarily Shut Border with Niger Ahead of Jigawa By-Election

Authorities in Nigeria will temporarily close the border with Niger Republic from midnight Friday to 6 p.m. Saturday to prevent cross-border crimes and safeguard the integrity of the Garki/Babura Federal Constituency by-election.

The decision, announced during a meeting between the Independent National Electoral Commission and security chiefs in Dutse, follows security concerns in border areas of Jigawa State, including Babura, the constituency headquarters.

Jigawa State Police Commissioner Dahiru Muhammad said a two-day security show of force will be conducted in Garki and Babura LGAs from Thursday to Friday. He added that a three-layer security arrangement will be deployed across polling units on election day, with a main operations center in Babura town and an emergency hotline for incident reporting.

Muhammad assured that strategic locations will be heavily guarded and called on residents to participate peacefully, commending the collaboration between INEC and security agencies.