All is now set for President Bola Tinubu to inaugurate the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) Command and Control Centre at the headquarters of the Service in Abuja.Security has been beef up around the NIS headquarters as at 8am on Tuesday, while services have been suspended for Nigerians seeking to renew their passports documents.Those given appointments for capturing of their biometric information have been asked to come back for the exercise another time as some NIS officials who were billed to attend to them have also be given Pass (off duty) for the day.
Banks operating inside the premises were also shut down with security personnel watching over movements of people in the premises.The Command and Control Centre to be commissioned by the President is equipped with state of the art surveillance and monitoring gadgets for movements of passengers in and out of the country’s airports.
The centre is connected with all the nation’s international airports with capability to obtain advanced information on passengers outside the country and block their entries in case they are persons of interests.
The Centre alongside the electronics gates (e-gates) already installed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, Portharcourt and Enugu International airports and Kano International Airport are parts of the reforms initiated by the present administration to ensure seamless air travels in the country.The e-gates are installed to ensure clearance of passengers within five minutes at the Airports and without human interface with officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service. Last week, the Minister of Interior Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo announced the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) blocked 14 internationally flagged persons of interest from entering Nigeria.
Dr Tunji-Ojo said the development was a major breakthrough in the country’s fight against terrorism and cross-border crime. He attributed the feat to various reforms initiated by the present administration for effective border management and security.