Niger–Nigeria border
A long Sahel border from the Niger River to Lake Chad, drawn by Britain and France to keep the old Kingdom of Sokoto on the British side: one early version was an arc 100 miles round the city. Families and traders live on both sides, and when Nigeria closed it after Niger’s 2023 coup, many kept crossing on foot.
Written from cited sourcesLast checked 29 September 2026Suggest a correction
See it on the globe:Niger →Nigeria →
Around Sokoto
In 1890 Britain recognised France’s sphere south of its Mediterranean possessions up to a line from Say on the Niger to Barrawa on Lake Chad, drawn so as to leave with Britain’s Niger Company “all that fairly belongs to the Kingdom of Sokoto.” A convention of 1898 made that concrete with a strange geometry: an arc of a circle 100 miles from the centre of Sokoto, then parallels and meridians to Lake Chad. A new convention in 1904 replaced it, and the line was delimited in 1906 and demarcated in 1910.[1]
In the east the border follows the Komadugu Yobe for more than 170 miles, then runs about 16 miles into Lake Chad to the tripoint with Chad. Niger became independent from France on 3 August 1960, Nigeria from Britain on 1 October 1960.[1]
Closed and reopened
After a military coup overthrew Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum, West African leaders imposed sanctions in August 2023 and the border was closed. Nigeria had exported $193 million of goods to Niger in 2022, and traders on both sides said the closure hit them hard; still, pedestrians such as three sisters walking to a wedding crossed at Jibia, where officials tended to turn a blind eye.[2] Nigeria lifted its sanctions and reopened the border on 13 March 2024.[3]
“We can’t afford it, which is why we decided to trek”[2]
Timeline
18905 August 1890
Say–Barrawa line
Britain and France split their spheres.[1]
189814 June 1898
The Sokoto arc
A 100-mile arc around Sokoto forms part of the line.[1]
191019 February 1910
Demarcation
The boundary is marked on the ground.[1]
2023August 2023
Border closed
Sanctions follow Niger’s coup.[2]
202413 March 2024
Reopened
Nigeria lifts its sanctions.[3]
More borders
Sources
- [1]International Boundary Study No. 93: Niger – Nigeria Boundary · US Department of State, Office of the Geographer · 15 December 1969
- [2]Photos: Nigerians suffer along border with Niger as economic sanctions bite · Al Jazeera (AFP) · 26 February 2024
- [3]Nigeria reopens borders with Niger · Africanews · 14 March 2024
Map geometry from Natural Earth via world-atlas. See credits.