Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) says the service is partnering with International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) Netherland to checkmate irregular migration along Nigeria borders.
The Comptroller-General of Immigration, Mrs Kemi Nandap, disclosed this when they paid a working visit to NIS Seme Command and Lagos State Border Patrol command.
The CGI was represented at the visit by Mrs Ngozi Adikpo, the Deputy Comptroller General of Immigration, in charge of Immigration Directorate.
She said: “We are here for field assessment, to look at few things, check our operations see where there are gaps and see how to address them towards enhancing border security and Immigration management.
“We are partnering with the ICMPD team from the kingdom of Netherlands to prevent irregular migration through mobile project.
“The team are here for first time assessment because whatever decision, whatever informations they get here will affect the next stage of the project.
“That is why they are here to see things for themselves in other to know what they are taking back to their home government.”
Nandap said that the project is a kind of mobile rapid response squad to help urgent the activities of border patrol unit and the command in case where there is attack.
She said the project would be a
quick response and intervention from this mobile unit, adding that it needed to be properly equipped and trained by experts.
The Coordinator of ICMPD, Mr Bornt Erzen, said they want to establish mobile patrol team along Nigeria borders.
According to him, the objective is to
strengthen the capacity of the Nigerian Immigration Service in sections of the border.
“We have started with the section of the borders in Benin Republic and then in future we will continue with the other sections to the border.
“ICMPD is supporting all ECOWAS country to have strong border security,” he said.
The Assistance Comptroller General and Zonal Coordinator NIS Lagos and Ogun states, Mr Mohammed Adamu, said the command was doing a lot in the area of apprehension, sensitisation and counselling the victims of human trafficking.
According to him, the zone was doing a lot in sensitizing people on the menace of trafficking .
“Most of the female victims are trafficked for sex work, where they contact various forms of sicknesses and organ transplant.
“Nigeria Immigration has done their best and we will continue to need your help,” he said.
Mr Peter Adache, the Comptroller, Lagos State Border Patrol Command, of NIS, Seme command said with the introduction of the E-Border the Nigerian borders are not really porous as thought but only that they are not properly manned.
On the challenges faced by the command, Adache in the whole of Lagos State the service had only three checkpoints recognised by ECOWAS and the service headquarters and two patrol buses.
“Another major challenge is manning the coastal area where thousands of Nigerian had been ferried out of the country for modern slavery, prostitution, child Labour especially the vulnerable the women and girls.
“If the E-Border facility can be supported with areal border drone where these drones can be deployed to take areal photos and return back to base and analyse pictorial evidence will go a long way.
“We need patrol boats to mane the water ways and this is supposed to be a joint operation,” he said.
The visit was graced by community stakeholders which include traditional chiefs, the Seriki, Youth leaders, Chairman of motorcycle riders and bus drivers.
