The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) held its combined passing out parade ceremony on Friday where it graduated personnel from the Immigration Training School, Kano.

To ensure effective monitoring and control of Nigeria’s borders and tackle security challenges, the NIS has introduced a new initiative program known as Border Patrol Corps and Rapid Response in its training which is in partnership with a German Non-Governmental Organisation.

Border security has come to assume heightened importance in Nigeria with the increased rate of criminal activities such as border harms insurgency, moving of money, sophisticated firearms, people, and goods which affect the security of lives and properties.

The Comptroller General of NIS said the training of staff is of importance if they must stand up squarely to ensure safe borders.

“For the first time in our career as a service, we are going to get enough vehicles. Honourable Minister, I assure you, we will make sure that everything we get we will use it for what it is meant for. So you cannot take the vehicles to the market or your girlfriend’s house.

“They must go on patrol. I am glad to state that border patrol is our primary responsibility and we intend to do it well, if we have a strong border patrol force with the well-trained patrol officers and trained drivers I assure you, we will not disappoint you in securing our borders, the security of our borders is the security of Nigeria.”

The Minister of Interior, Retired General Abdul-Raman Danbazzau, said training is an integral part of the vision of the current administration and that there is still more work to be done.

“In terms of our borders, yes we have our borders porous and extensive as you have heard what we are trying to do now is to resuscitate border patrol core, the next step is to ensure that we revive the aircraft and other equipment and this cannot be done manually, we need technology to do that. We have 4,500 kilometres borders so this is extensive we are coming up with policies that will ensure that our border coverage is effective and efficient.

“We have 4,500 kilometres borders, so this is extensive. We are coming up with policies that will ensure that our borders coverage is effective and efficient,” the Minister said.

It is no doubt that Nigeria’s borders have been proposing for too long and it is expected that NIS steps up to ensure the safety of the country hence the training to meet up with global standards of ensuring security. (Channels TV)

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