Michael Olugbode in Abuja
The federal government has integrated more than 15 million migration records into the Nigeria Immigration Service’s (NIS) digital border management system and established an over-eight-petabyte data centre as part of sweeping reforms aimed at strengthening border security, closing identity gaps and improving the monitoring of migration into and out of the country.
The reforms, unveiled at the closing ceremony of a specialised training programme for 87 immigration officers in Abuja, are designed to connect previously fragmented information systems, improve intelligence sharing and equip personnel with technology to detect identity fraud, human trafficking, migrant smuggling and other transnational crimes.
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said the government was determined to end the era in which disconnected databases and analogue processes undermined effective migration management, while the Comptroller-General of Immigration, Kemi Nandap, warned that officers entrusted with the new technology would be held accountable for its use.
The minister disclosed that the government had developed a 10-year technology roadmap for the Ministry of Interior, supported by a data centre with a capacity exceeding eight petabytes and a solar-powered facility enabling the data control centre to operate off-grid.
He said the digital transformation was intended not only to modernise the immigration service but also to position Nigeria as a source of expertise in border management for other countries.
Tunji-Ojo said the reforms were driven by the recognition that a country with more than 200 million people could no longer manage migration effectively through analogue systems.
He recalled that when the administration began its reforms at the Ministry of Interior about three years ago, critical information systems within the ministry and its agencies were not adequately connected, creating gaps in the management of visas, residency and the identities of foreign nationals.
The minister questioned the reliability of official records that reportedly put the number of foreign nationals working in Nigeria at about 40,000, arguing that the absence of comprehensive, integrated information made it difficult for authorities to establish who was residing in the country and monitor their activities effectively.
“When you do not have the data of those foreigners residing in your country, then how do you manage their affairs? And how do you monitor them?” he asked.
He said the government had consequently embarked on a broader integration initiative, known as the Centralised Interior Management System, to connect relevant information platforms across the ministry and its agencies.
The system is expected to accommodate the correctional information management platform, fire administration systems and other relevant civil affairs information, with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) forming part of the wider effort to improve identity verification.
According to the minister, the objective is to ensure that the identity supplied by an individual to one government agency corresponds with records held by other relevant agencies, reducing discrepancies and opportunities for fraud.
He said the reforms had addressed cases in which individuals held two or three different passports, although the extent of the improvement was not independently established at the event.
Tunji-Ojo cited the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States as a warning about the dangers of fragmented intelligence, arguing that Nigeria should not wait for a major security failure before addressing weaknesses in its own information systems.
For the government, he said, effective data integration was no longer optional but essential to modern security administration.
Beyond the integration of migration records, the NIS is deploying secure mobile devices and artificial intelligence-assisted tools to support officers in identifying suspicious patterns and verifying information during border operations.
Tunji-Ojo also declared that the Ministry of Interior would no longer tolerate technology vendors that failed to transfer the necessary technical knowledge to Nigerian personnel.
He said the government was determined to develop indigenous capacity to operate and maintain its systems, rather than allow private contractors to exercise excessive control over critical government infrastructure.
“The era when any vendor will hold the service of government to ransom is gone,” he said.
“If you cannot transfer knowledge, then you have no business in government business.”
The minister praised immigration personnel involved in managing and developing the technology platform, saying their work demonstrated that Nigerian officers could acquire the expertise needed to operate sophisticated systems when given the right training and institutional support.
He said the ministry intended to develop personnel capable of helping other countries establish effective border and immigration management systems, turning Nigeria from a consumer of external technical services into an exporter of expertise.
He added that the government would continue investing in training, stressing that it was unreasonable to demand improved performance from personnel without equipping them with the necessary skills.
The minister also credited President Bola Tinubu with improvements in recruitment, promotions and welfare across the interior services.
He said more than 50,000 promotions had been effected across the services in approximately three years, alongside recruitment exercises, salary increases and improved hazard allowances.
Tunji-Ojo further said the President had approved salary-for-life arrangements for retired comptrollers-general and deputy comptrollers-general, presenting the measures as part of the administration’s support for personnel.
He urged the immigration officers to justify the confidence placed in them, noting that the 87 selected for the specialised training represented a small proportion of a service workforce he put at about 38,000.
The officers, he said, had a responsibility to improve public confidence in the institution because immigration personnel often represented Nigeria’s first point of contact with incoming travellers and their last point of contact when they departed.
He called for discipline, professionalism and sustained institutional reforms, saying the government’s investments must translate into better service delivery and stronger national security.
At the centre of the initiative is the Border Management Information System (BMIS), which Nandap said had been integrated with the Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS), bringing more than 15 million migration records into a coordinated platform accessible to authorised officers.
She said the integration represented a significant shift from information scattered across different immigration commands to a system providing a more comprehensive picture of identity, movement and potential security risks.
“The achievement is that information, once scattered across our commands, now forms one coherent picture of identity, movement and risk available to authorised officers when it matters most,” the comptroller-general said.
The development comes as Nigeria continues to confront complex security challenges involving irregular migration, trafficking in persons, identity fraud and the movement of people across its extensive land borders.
Nandap, however, warned that the technology must not be treated as a substitute for evidence, sound judgement or respect for the rights of travellers.
“An alert is not a verdict. A risk indicator calls for careful, proportionate examination. It never replaces evidence, professional judgement or respect for the rights of the travellers standing in front of you,” she said.
She explained that AI-assisted tools would flag patterns for further examination but that every output must be subjected to human verification and oversight.
The warning highlights the challenge confronting the service as it adopts increasingly sophisticated digital tools: improving the detection of security threats without allowing inaccurate information, automated alerts or unauthorised access to result in wrongful treatment of travellers.
“No technology is infallible. Poor data produces poor analysis. Unchecked alerts cause harm,” she said.
The comptroller-general outlined five non-negotiable standards for the 87 officers who completed the specialised training: accuracy, integrity, judgement, readiness and accountability.
She directed officers to ensure that every entry into the national system was accurate, warning that a careless entry could mislead another officer and compromise subsequent operational decisions.
She also prohibited officers from sharing their access credentials, searching records out of curiosity or using the platform to grant favours, settle personal scores or facilitate improper passage across the country’s borders.
“Your access to this system is a position of trust, not a personal privilege,” Nandap said, adding that any abuse would be investigated and punished.
On accountability, she said officers’ activities on the platform could be reviewed through digital audit trails, requiring them to conduct their duties with the knowledge that their decisions and actions could be scrutinised.
She charged supervisors to ensure that officers were properly deployed, equipment remained functional and operational reports were completed in accordance with established procedures.
Nandap said the programme would be judged by practical results, including improvements in record accuracy, consistency of border checks, prompt escalation of alerts, system availability and lawful treatment of travellers.
“The measure is not how many officers were trained or how many devices were issued,” she said, insisting that operational performance, rather than ceremonies, would determine the success of the initiative.
Nandap, in turn, urged the graduating officers to demonstrate the value of their training at their duty posts, warning that certificates alone would not establish their competence.
“The certificate you received today recognises training has been completed. Your performance in the field is what will prove that, yes, you really have been trained,” she said.
She said the ultimate objective was to build an immigration service in which information was connected, intelligence was acted upon lawfully, legitimate movement was facilitated and border control decisions reflected competence and public trust.
Both officials maintained that the technology initiative was part of a longer-term transformation of the Ministry of Interior, with the government seeking to establish systems capable of sustaining effective migration management beyond the tenure of individual officeholders.