2023: Secure our borders, Aregbesola leads NIS

THE Federal Government has directed the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to fulfill their core mandate of border surveillance and control ahead of the holding of general elections.

Interior Minister Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola said this on Tuesday in Katsina, during the commissioning of the Katsina State Command Office of the Nigerian Immigration Service and the rollout of the enhanced e-passport in the state.

The minister reiterated that the primary mission of the Nigerian Immigration Service is border control and not the issuance of passports.

Aregbesola revealed that President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered that Nigeria’s borders be made impenetrable to foreign bodies seeking to manipulate the election process or engage in other nefarious activities.

“President Muhammadu Buhari’s order is that between now and when all elections are concluded, please make our borders impregnable. They must also remain impregnable after the elections.

“We don’t want a situation where those who are not qualified to vote in Nigeria enter our country to illegally participate in the process.”

The Home Secretary highlighted ‘migration management’ as another primary responsibility of the Nigerian Immigration Service, saying that “The Nigerian Immigration Service must ensure that migrants are effectively regulated and documented as the issuance of passports is free.

Aregbesola further disclosed that the country’s borders will soon be guarded using the latest surveillance technology as electronic digital technology will be deployed to ensure constant and effective coverage of the borders.

“We are deploying electronic digital technology to monitor 24/7 inch by inch the 4,500 kilometer long border from the eastern part to the western part, including coastlines.

“This is one of the many achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari,” media adviser to the Interior Minister Sola Fasure said in a statement Tuesday.

He added that “Katsina has 14 border positions manned by immigration personnel on the border of about 400 km, and the people of Katsina must be able to trust that we are prepared to protect these border positions.

For his part, the Governor of Katsina State, Alh. Aminu Bello Masari, who was represented by Katsina State Government Secretary Alhaji Muntari Lawal, praised the efforts of the Nigerian Immigration Service to curb the threat of insecurity and play an important role in the fight against banditry.

The SSG commended the Ministry of Home Affairs for the achievement of successfully establishing a State Command of the Nigerian Immigration Service in Katsina.

the Interior Minister, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Isah Jere Idris; and other senior management officials from the agency and other agencies under the Interior Department, paid a courtesy visit to the governor in his office where other matters of critical national importance were being discussed.