Nigeria’s land borders will remain closed to trade until at least 31 January 2020.
The borders were closed two months ago to tackle smuggling – particularly of rice – but the move is having an impact on trade across the region.
Nigeria’s immediate neighbours Benin, Niger, Chad and Cameroon – as well as Ghana and Togo – have all been hit by the crisis.
Goods are rotting and queues of lorries are waiting at checkpoints in the hope the crossings will reopen, the BBC’s Nduka Orjinmo reported last week.
Joseph Attah, spokesman for the Nigerian customs service, told news agency Reuters that although this phase of the closure would end on 31 January, but it could be extended.
The closure contravenes an agreement allowing freedom of movement of goods between 15 members of the West African regional bloc, Ecowas, but restricting the importation of certain food and agricultural products is legal.
