President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday ordered the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to enhance border surveillance and control ahead of the forthcoming general election.

This is contained in a statement by interior minister Rauf Aregbesola’s media aide Sola Fasure. MrAregbesola conveyed the president’s directive while inaugurating the Katsina NIS command office and the roll-out of the enhanced e-passport.

“President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered that Nigerian borders should be made impenetrable to foreign bodies who might want to come in and manipulate the election process or engage in other nefarious activities,” said Mr Aregbesola. 

The minister added, “The order from the president is that between now and the time that we conclude all the elections, please make our borders impregnable. They should still remain impregnable, even after the elections. We don’t want a situation whereby those who are not qualified to vote in Nigeria will come into our nation to illegally participate in the process.”

According to the minister, NIS’ primary assignment is border control, not passport issuance. Mr Aregbesola, however, said migration management was another primary responsibility of the NIS. He assured that the nation’s borders would soon be covered using the latest surveillance technology.

“We are deploying electronic digital technology to ensure 24/7 inch-by-inch surveillance of the 4,500km borderline from the eastern part to the western part, including coastlines. This is one of the several achievements of the president’s administration,” the interior minister explained.

He disclosed that Katsina has 14 border positions across a 400km borderline manned by immigration personnel and assured that the government was confident of protecting the border positions.

(NAN)