Immigration integrates 15 million migration documents and trains 87 officials in specialized border management

The federal government has integrated more than 15 million migration documents into the Border Control and Immigration Management System (BCIMS), as part of efforts to strengthen border security and combat identity fraud and transnational crimes.

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this at the closing ceremony of a specialized training program on border control and immigration management for 87 officers of the Service, held on Friday at the NIS headquarters in Abuja.

Tunji-Ojo said the reforms aimed to put an end to fragmented databases across government agencies and ensure that information used by the Immigration Service was consistent with records held by other relevant institutions.

He said Nigeria can no longer rely on similar processes to manage migration in a country with a population of more than 200 million.

“It is not possible to manage 200 million people in an analogue environment. It is not feasible,” the minister said.

He explained that the Home Office introduced the Centralized Interior Management and Administration System, CMAS, to facilitate data integration across agencies under its supervision, including the Immigration Service, Prison Services and the Federal Fire Service.

According to him, harmonization of government databases would improve identity verification, strengthen monitoring of foreigners residing in Nigeria and close security gaps caused by inconsistent registrations.

“There is no data that we need in Nigeria that is not somewhere in Nigeria. That is the truth. Data harmonization, the strategic handshake of data generating and processing agencies, is the only way to have a single point of truth,” he said.

The minister said the government has also developed a ten-year roadmap for technological advancement and created a data center with a capacity of more than eight petabytes, along with an off-grid solar power plant to support the data command and control center.

He said the reforms are aimed at enabling Nigeria to develop indigenous skills in immigration and border management, adding that technology providers must transfer knowledge to Nigerian staff rather than making government agencies dependent on external contractors.

Tunji-Ojo said the government is committed to building institutions that can support reforms beyond the tenure of individual officials.

Earlier, the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Kemi Nanna Nandap, said the integration of the Border Control and Immigration Management System with the Migration Information and Data Analysis System, MIDAS, had enabled the service to consolidate more than 15 million migration records.

“The heart of the border control and immigration management system is the BCIMS and, through integration with MIDAS, which was the system we initially had, the BCIMS is now capable of maintaining over 15 million migration records.”

Nandap instructed the 87 officers who completed the specialized training to ensure the technology was used accurately, legally and responsibly.

He cautioned that technology can support operational decisions but should not replace professional judgment or due process.

“A warning is not a verdict. A risk indicator requires careful and proportionate scrutiny. It never replaces evidence, professional judgment or respect for the rights of travelers faced with it,” he said.

The Comptroller-General identified accuracy, integrity, judgment, promptness and accountability as five non-negotiable standards for officers using the system.

It warned against unauthorized access to data, sharing of login credentials and misuse of the platform to facilitate illegal switching, stressing that any abuse will be investigated and sanctioned.

Nandap also instructed supervisors to ensure officers were properly deployed, equipment remained functional and operational reports were submitted as required.

It said the success of the program will be measured by improvements in the accuracy of migration records, the consistency of border controls, the timely escalation of alerts and the lawful treatment of travellers.

The Comptroller-General said the reforms are part of efforts to strengthen interagency cooperation and move the service from fragmented operations to coordinated, technology-driven border management.