As part of activities marking the upcoming two-year anniversary of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, the Minister of Interior, Olubumi Tunji-Ojo has highlighted significant achievements in border security, migration management, and national identity protection.
Speaking at a ministerial briefing in Abuja, the minister emphasized the reorientation of the ministry and its agencies, including the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the Civil Defense Corps, and the National Identity Management Commission. He noted that before President Tinubu took office, the NIS was primarily seen as a travel document-issuing agency, rather than a full-fledged migration management institution.
“One of the first major achievements of this administration has been changing the orientation and scope of expectations from the ministry. Border control and migration management are our core responsibilities, and we have taken decisive steps to strengthen them,” Tunji-Ojo stated.
A key milestone under Tinubu’s administration is the construction and activation of a Command and Control Center for Migration Management. Tunji-Ojo revealed that prior to this, Nigeria—Africa’s most populous nation—lacked a centralized system to monitor and manage border activities in real time.
“Within 12 months, from scratch, a command and control center was built, equipped, and integrated with global security databases,” he said. “The impact has been immediate. Just two days ago, a person on Interpol’s Red List was apprehended in Abuja, and another wanted in Ireland was stopped at the Lagos International Airport. This shows that our border security is no longer business as usual.”
Beyond border control, the minister announced the establishment of one of Africa’s largest data centers for the storage and protection of Nigerians’ biometric and migration records. The facility, boasting 8.4 petabytes of data capacity, eliminates reliance on third-party storage systems, ensuring greater national security and data sovereignty.
The minister also highlighted improvements in Nigeria’s passport issuance system. Before now, over 50 locations across the country handled passport issuance, creating loopholes for fraud. The Tinubu administration has centralized the process, reducing incidents of non-Nigerians obtaining Nigerian passports fraudulently.
“We have streamlined the passport production process, starting with 14 countries. Passports are now issued centrally in Nigeria and sent to embassies, ensuring authenticity and boosting the integrity of our travel documents,” he explained.
To ease entry into the country, e-gates have been installed at major airports, aligning Nigeria with international best practices. “When a British citizen arrives at Heathrow, they use an e-gate. Nigerians should enjoy the same convenience when they return home,” the minister noted.
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On tackling passport backlogs, the minister revealed that within just two and a half weeks of Tinubu’s administration, over 200,000 pending passport applications were cleared without additional government spending. He assured that measures were in place to prevent future delays.
Tunji-Ojo.said that for Nigerians in the diaspora, a contactless passport renewal system has been introduced. This allows citizens to renew passports via an app without visiting embassies, eliminating long wait times. “Technology must play its role,” he said. “We piloted this in Canada in November, expanded to Europe in February, and just launched in Asia. Next month, we roll out in the U.S.”
To ensure 24/7 operational efficiency, the new border security and migration systems are powered by a four-megawatt solar farm, eliminating reliance on unstable electricity supply.
Summarizing the administration’s efforts, the minister reaffirmed that under President Tinubu, border security is no longer an afterthought, but a priority.
“As Barack Obama once said, ‘A secure border is a safe nation.’ Show me a country that cannot secure its borders, and I will show you a nation that can never be safe. This government is ensuring Nigeria is safe.”
The Minister believes that the Tinubu administration has positioned Nigeria as a leader in migration management and national security in Africa, setting a foundation for long-term stability and progress.
