By Palma Ileye
In continued efforts to enhance national security especially at the nation’s border and ensure economic growth, the Federal Government through the Ministry of Interior has inducted One Hundred and Twenty-Three, 123, Officers into the Command and Control Centre of the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, to achieve this feat.
Speaking yesterday during the Induction Ceremony held at the NIS Headquaters in Abuja, the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo said that the aim of the Command and Control Centre which was to be established, is to reinforce border control, security and governance capabilities in line with global best practices, thereby urging the inductees to do a perfect job in securing the borders, lives, properties of citizens and economy of the nation.
Tunji-Ojo, who noted that the facilities inside the Centre have been fully integrated with International Police and other security outfits across the world, added that this would help to do a pre-profiling of passengers and pick up persons of interest anywhere in the world.
He said, “Persons of interest would be picked up anywhere even before they board their planes to Nigeria because the facilities here have capacity and capability of pre-profiling passengers.”
He said that the Command and Control Centre would operate on a 24/7 basis to monitor land, maritime, and air borders of the country.
“There will be zero tolerance for error and we have arranged the system in a way that fatigue would not set in on the officers that would be on shift at every point so that they would do their jobs seamlessly,” he stated.
Speaking earlier during her opening remarks, the Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, Kemi Nandap, while urging the Officers not to compromise on their duty noted that the Officers who scaled the first training will move to a next stage which will involve data analysis and travel plans.
Nandap said that the training was not a regular one as it was done in conjunction with other critical stakeholders and this was the flagship of the project the Service has embarked on also tasking the inductees to be responsible because the success of the Unit, was paramount to national security and economy of the country.
“This training was not regular training, it was done in conjunction with so many critical stakeholders and it will interest you to know that you are the pioneer of the flagship of this project that NIS has embarked upon.
“I urge you to be responsible because the success of this unit is paramount to the national security of our country. So a large responsibility is on you. You have to justify the confidence that is being given to you and make sure you don’t compromise on the duty you’ve been assigned to,” she said.
On the Advanced Passenger Information System, APIS, which would enhance the NIS ability to identify potential security threats, the NIS boss said it will facilitate the collection and analysis of passenger data, allowing for real time risk assessment and targeted interventions.