Nigeria’s defense chief proposes border fence to combat worsening insecurity

Nigeria’s Chief of Defense Staff, General Christopher Musa, has proposed a bold and controversial solution to the country’s escalating insecurity: fencing the nation’s entire land borders with its four neighbors, namely Niger, Cameroon, Benin, and Chad.

Speaking at a security conference in Abuja on Tuesday (3 June), Musa said the porous borders have allowed armed groups, including Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), to infiltrate the country. He cited similar security-driven barriers in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia as examples Nigeria should emulate. “It is critical for our survival and sovereignty,” Musa stated. “It is Nigeria that everybody is interested in.”

“Nigeria’s spiraling insecurity is sometimes blamed on armed herders, at other times on bandits or kidnappers,” said a recent analysis in The Conversation. Then there is Nigeria’s longest border, stretching nearly 2,000 km with Cameroon in the northeast, being a Boko Haram hotspot, which has seen years of violent insurgency. In the north, militants from Niger and Chad continue to exploit unmonitored crossings to launch attacks and smuggle arms. The defense chief emphasized that these threats are worsened by Nigeria’s perceived wealth and natural resources.

The proposed fencing comes amid growing insecurity across Nigeria, including recent mass killings in Plateau and Benue states and expanding terrorist activity in the northwest and southwest. While the financial and logistical demands of fencing Nigeria’s 4,000+ km border are immense, Musa’s proposal underscores mounting frustration with existing security measures — and signals a potential shift toward more hardline solutions.