Nigeria denied, on Friday August 23, the closure of its border with Benin, which has been closed since August 20 by official press release. The interruption noted by the media at all the crossing points, including that of Sèmè-Kraké, the main gateway through which most of the traffic and commercial exchanges between the two countries pass, could be explained by a joint exercise aimed at tackling transnational crime, suggested Joseph Attah, spokesman for the Nigeria Customs Service (Ncs). "The country's security agencies have come together to build ties and deploy a common response strategy to combat insecurity in the area," he told reporters.
As a reminder, Abuja announced on Tuesday August 20, 2019, through a press release, the closure of its borders with certain neighboring countries in order to fight against insecurity, the proliferation of arms and smuggling. This decision is not without impact on Benin, where 20% of customs revenue comes from trade with its powerful neighbor to the east.

If the security arguments are admissible, the collateral damage of such an operation, triggered by surprise without taking into account the deadweight losses and loss of earnings of economic operators in the two countries, is worrying in more ways than one. The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has called the Nigerian government's decision to temporarily close its land borders as unfriendly as undermining ongoing efforts by the African Union to boost state-to-state trade and investment on the continent. “It's very unfair and not good for business. People doing business at the borders should have been properly informed and warned before the closure,” said LCCI Managing Director, Mr. Muda Yusuff, in the columns of dailytrust.com.ng. Does this mean that ECOWAS and, a fortiori, ZLECA, is only for summits and family photos?

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