The National Boundary Commission has warned that African borders are facing a growing convergence of terrorism, banditry, smuggling and irregular migration.
The NBC Director-General, Adamu Adaji, raised the concern at the 2026 International Conference of the African Borderlands Research Network in Lagos.
The conference, held from Aug. 24 to 28, focused on “The Connected Borderlands, Socio-Cultural Integration, and the Centrality of Policy, Research, and Security.”
Adaji called for stronger cooperation among governments, researchers, border communities and development partners to tackle emerging threats.
He said borderlands were important spaces for trade, interaction and cooperation but could also become areas of conflict when poorly managed.
According to him, effective border management now requires more than physical infrastructure and conventional security measures.
“Effective management of these borders requires not only physical infrastructure and security measures but also informed policies grounded in rigorous research and evidence-based analysis,” he said.
Adaji noted that border challenges increasingly intersect with trade, migration, identity, citizenship and regional integration.
He called for a balance between national sovereignty, regional cooperation, security and legitimate movement across Africa’s increasingly interconnected borderlands.
The conference also examined boundary delimitation, trans-border security threats, maritime governance, terrorism, arms trafficking, smuggling, irregular migration and maritime insecurity.
The event was co-hosted by Lagos State University and the Nigeria Immigration Service, with other participating institutions including the NBC, Border Communities Development Agency, NIPSS and Nigerian Institute of International Affairs.
