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FG apprehends 10 wanted individuals on INTERPOL watchlist

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The Federal Government has announced the arrest of at least 10 individuals on INTERPOL’s watch list attempting to enter Nigeria.

This was disclosed by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, during the unveiling of the Technology Innovation Complex at the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday.

President Bola Tinubu presided over the event, which marked the inauguration of the NIS Data Complex. The state-of-the-art facility includes a Command and Control Centre for regular migration, a Data Centre, an ECOWAS Biometric Card Production Centre, an Interior Data Centre, and a 0.5KW solar power plant.

Tunji-Ojo explained that the newly implemented technology would enhance Nigeria’s border security by assessing the risk levels of individuals entering the country, detecting irregular migration patterns, and monitoring unmanned borders in remote areas. These capabilities, he said, are essential for addressing the challenges of illegal immigration and securing the nation’s borders.

“In the last couple of days, there were 10 people who were on the INTERPOL and immigration wanted list who were apprehended in one week.

“Before now, those people would have entered Nigeria, causing terror. But we have now told them that under the new leadership, Nigeria is a no-go area for any criminal element,” he explained.

Tunji-Ojo said aside from an installed solar power plant of 0.5KWs, 250 trained officers maintain eight-hour shifts to monitor the borders round the clock.

“We decided to do an end-to-end solution; one that has an energy solution to power this facility. The 0.5KW solar power plant is 100 per cent ready here and it has been connected to the facility to power it.

“Also, the human factor is fundamental because you can build a structure, but how about the human element?

“What we’ve been able to do is to train 250 officers. As I speak, we run shifts of eight hours three times a day which is 24/7 surveillance,” he added.

Tunji-Ojo also said Nigeria is expected to save over N300m annually with the new facility.

He explained, “Nigeria was wasting billions every year, but with this state-of-the-art technology, the country will save over N300m annually.

“We now have an ECOWAS travel document that will facilitate easy movement and travels and for the first time in the history of this country, we now have over 200 borders and we are fully incharge of the border governance, watching over them.

“We now have an automated visa regime with 48 hours visa approval. In the area of Correctional information management, in less than 3 hours we shared information amongst security agencies during the flooding in Maiduguri.”

The minister commended the office of the National Security Adviser for its support, adding that the centre will operate 24/7.

The complex comprises of seven key components including a Data Centre, a command and control centre, a visa approval centre, an ECOWAS centre, and a solar farm has already been described to you and the passport personalisation centre.

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