President Bola Tinubu has directed the reopening of Nigeria's land and air borders with Niger, seven months after shutting them.
The president also ordered the lifting of other sanctions against the country with immediate effect.
The sanctions include the suspension of commercial and financial transactions between Nigeria and Niger, the freezing of utility services and electricity supply to Niger, the freezing of its assets in West African central and commercial banks, and travel bans on Nigerien government officials and their families.
In a presidential directive signed Wednesday by spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, President Tinubu said his new directives complied with the decisions taken by the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government at its extraordinary summit in Abuja on 24 February.
At the meeting, the Economic Community of West African States agreed to lift economic sanctions against Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea.
The Nigeria-Niger borders were closed after the military coup in Niger.
Presidential guards seized power on 26 July 2023, detaining President Mohamed Bazoum, and paving the way for the emergence of Presidential Guard commander, General Abdourahamane Tchiani to become the country’s leader.
President Tinubu has also approved the lifting of financial and economic sanctions against the Republic of Guinea, according to Ngelale.
