Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo on Tuesday announced that the Federal Government has activated a command and control centre aimed at combating the illegal entry of foreigners into Nigeria.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Minister, during his appearance on the Channels Television program “Politics Today,” confirmed that the centre began its 24-hour operations on Monday.
On October 28, the minister outlined plans for this command and control centre, which is designed to enhance the monitoring of irregular migration into the country. The centre will focus on the thorough screening of individuals attempting to enter Nigeria through land borders, ensuring a more secure entry process.
“We did the induction programme about two weeks ago. Just yesterday, we started the 24-hour operation of the command and control centre at Soka, the immigration headquarters in Abuja,” Tunji-Ojo said.
“All our international airports are on it. It’s there, live and direct. Even our land and sea borders are being integrated there because of what we call a regular migration control centre.
“And the APIS that I promised the other time—that’s the advanced passenger information system—is also live now.
“We started receiving data from KLM and a lot of others.
“So, we have started the pre-profiling of people before they come into Nigeria, taking a decision, looking and integrating, which is integrated to the criminal records system, to the Interpol, and a lot of other things I won’t be able to talk deeply into. So, that is live and direct.”
The minister said the control centre enables authorities to be well-informed about individuals, their current location, origin, recent movements, and travel route before they arrive in the country.
“So, what it means now is that it’s no longer subjective profiling. What we do now is objective profiling, just like you see anywhere in the world. And what we have in Nigeria, it’s not just an API,” he said.
“It’s an IAPI, an interactive API, which is top-notch, the best you can get anywhere in the world, and I challenge anybody to dispute that; we already have that.”
He added that every detail, from the command centre to the visa approval center, has been carefully addressed to guarantee seamless functionality within the complex.
Tunji-Ojo said the ministry installed a 500kW and 0.5MW solar farm to ensure uninterrupted operations of the control centre.
