By Kwin Israel, The Sight News
In its bid to enhance national security at the nation’s border, the minister of interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has inducted 123 officers into the Command and Control Centre of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).
Speaking in Abuja on Monday during the induction, Dr. Tunji-Ojo said the aim of the Command and Control Centre is to reinforce border control, security and governance capabilities in line with global best practices.
The minister, who noted that the facilities inside the centre have been fully integrated with international police and other security outfits across the world, added that this would help to do a pre-profiling of passengers and pick up persons of interest anywhere in the world.
“Persons of interest would be picked up anywhere even before they board their planes to Nigeria because the facilities here have capacity and capability of pre-profiling passengers”.
Dr. Tunji-Ojo said the Command and Control Centre would operate on a 24/7 basis to monitor land, maritime, and air borders of the country.
“There will be zero tolerance for error and we have arranged the system in a way that fatigue would not set in on the officers that would be on shift at every point so that they would do their jobs seamlessly”, he added.
Speaking earlier during her opening remarks, the Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service, Kemi Nandap, while urging the officers not to compromise on their duty, noted that the officers who scaled the first training will move to a next stage which will involve data analysis and travel plans.
“This training was not regular training, it was done in conjunction with so many critical stakeholders and it will interest you to know that you are the pioneer of the flagship of this project that NIS has embarked upon.
“I urge you to be responsible because the success of this unit is paramount to the national security of our country” she added.
“So a large responsibility is on you. You have to justify the confidence that is being given to you and make sure you don’t compromise on the duty you’ve been assigned to”.
On the Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS) which would enhance the NIS ability to identify potential security threats, the CG NIS said it will facilitate the collection and analysis of passenger data, allowing for real time risk assessment and targeted interventions.
