Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service, Kemi Nanna Nandap, has said the newly deployed border management system of the service is enhancing target-based profiling through the interactive advanced passenger information (API) and passenger name record (PNR) technology, in an unprecedented level of efficiency.
This facility, according to her, helps the service to know and properly profile individuals travelling to Nigeria before they leave wherever they are coming from, for the purpose of national security.
Nandap spoke at the two-day interactive session on government-citizen engagement themed: “Assessing Electoral Promises: Fostering Government–Citizen Engagement for National Unity,” held in Kaduna.
“The border management system we have deployed in this administration has a lot of target-based profiling.
“We have the interactive advanced passenger information (API) and passenger name record (PNR). What that does in terms of national security is that airlines send the data of their passengers coming to Nigeria.
“And it gives us the opportunity to profile everyone of them before they come in, for the purpose of national security,” she added.
She also said the interests of communities at the nation’s borders would be prioritised in the ongoing immigration service recruitment process.
This, according to the CG, is expected to strengthen the relationship between the service and the border communities and enhance collaboration, intelligence gathering and security at the borders.
‘Most importantly, We do a lot of border community engagement and outreach, and I think the president has been very magnanimous, because he has graciously approved that we start the ongoing process of recruitment.
“And the recruitment we are doing now is going to be target-based, where we laisse with community leaders and ask them to give us credible sons and daughters of their community.
“Because have realised that we stand a chance of losing out on information and collaboration with the border communities, who are very crucial to the success of our jobs as immigration officers, if we don’t engage them,” she said.
She added that migrants entering the country through the land borders from the ECOWAS neighbouring countries were registered at the numerous control posts at the borders, over 30 of which she said were located in the northern part of the country. She explained further that the data gathered from the registration were directly connected to the command and control centre at the service headquarters.
She also said the border surveillance facilities of the service are active 24/7, giving real-time movement update.
She said the service forward operating bases(FOBs) in Sokoto, Bornu, Zamfara, kebi, Yobe, Taraba, Adamawa and other northern corridors had been refurbished in order the enhance their efficiency in combating cross-border crimes and irregular migration.
The high-level forum had governors, service chiefs, ministers and other aides of the president led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and the president was represented by the governor of Kwara State, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq.
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