Nigeria Immigration Service Accelerates Digital Border Management to Strengthen National Security

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) is intensifying efforts to modernise the management of Nigeria’s borders through digital identity systems, automated border controls and intelligence-driven surveillance, while ensuring that legitimate travel and cross-border trade remain unhindered.

The Comptroller-General of the NIS, Kemi Nandap, disclosed this on Monday in Lagos during the 2026 conference of the African Borderlands Research Network (ABORNE).

The conference, themed “The Connected Borderlands: Socio-Cultural Integration and the Centrality of Policy, Research, and Security,” brought together researchers, policymakers, security experts and development partners to discuss the evolving security and socio-economic conditions in Africa’s border communities.

Nandap explained that Nigeria’s border management strategy was being transformed in response to changing migration patterns, regional integration, increasing cross-border commerce and more sophisticated security threats.

She stressed that borders should no longer be viewed simply as geographical boundaries separating countries, noting that families, communities, cultures and economies often operate across national frontiers.

According to her, the challenge is to strengthen border security without placing unnecessary restrictions on legitimate travellers, traders and border communities.

She identified human trafficking, migrant smuggling, identity fraud, organised crime, terrorism and cyber-related offences as some of the major threats exploiting cross-border networks.

Nandap said the NIS was therefore combining the expertise of its personnel with modern technology, intelligence gathering and stronger cooperation among security agencies to identify and respond to emerging threats more effectively.

She noted that Nigeria had been pursuing technology-based border administration for almost two decades, becoming the first African country to introduce the electronic passport in 2007.

Since then, the country has upgraded its e-Passport system with improved biometric and security features while digitising important aspects of passport processing, including applications, payments and identity verification.

She added that the centralisation of passport personalisation had improved the security and integrity of the production process.

Nigeria’s participation in the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s Public Key Directory has also strengthened the global verification of Nigerian electronic passports.

The NIS is further deploying contactless biometric passport services to make passport-related services more accessible to Nigerians living abroad while maintaining required security standards.

At international airports, automated border-control systems, including electronic gates, are being introduced to facilitate faster passenger processing through biometric verification.

According to Nandap, the service is also investing in surveillance equipment, command-and-control systems, communications infrastructure and integrated data platforms covering Nigeria’s land, air and maritime borders.

However, she warned that technology should not be regarded as an end in itself.

She explained that the primary objective was to equip immigration officers with the tools needed to make faster and better-informed decisions, detect emerging threats early, improve coordination and facilitate the smooth movement of legitimate travellers while protecting national security.

Nandap also emphasised that technology could not replace skilled immigration personnel, stressing the continued importance of professional judgement, experience and integrity in border operations.

Beyond technology and inter-agency cooperation, she called for stronger partnerships with communities living along Nigeria’s borders, describing them as valuable sources of local intelligence and important partners in securing the nation’s frontiers.

The Chairman of ABORNE, Prof. Paul Nugent, said African borderlands had repeatedly become major areas of government security intervention during health emergencies and periods of regional instability.

He cited the Ebola outbreak, COVID-19 pandemic and regional insurgencies as examples of crises that had led to border restrictions and, in some cases, prolonged closures.

Nugent said ABORNE was working to reduce the gap between academic research and government policymaking by encouraging closer collaboration among researchers, border agencies, policymakers and practitioners working in border communities.

He also called for a broader perception of African borderlands, arguing that they should not be viewed mainly as areas of insecurity and disorder.

Many, he noted, have developed into important centres of commerce, urban innovation and cultural exchange.

Prof. Anthony Asiwaju, a former Director of the Centre for African Regional Integration and Border Studies, also praised the conference for strengthening research and policy discussions on the future of African borderlands.

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