Nigeria Immigration Service digitizes border management to enhance security and facilitate legitimate movement

Comptroller-General of the NIS, Kemi Nandap, announced this at the 2026 African Borderlands Research Network conference in Lagos. Nandap highlighted that Nigeria's border management strategy is evolving due to changing migration patterns, regional integration, expanding commerce, and sophisticated security threats like human trafficking, migrant smuggling, identity fraud, organized crime, terrorism, and cyber-enabled offenses. She emphasized that borders are dynamic spaces for interaction and trade, not merely lines separating countries.

The NIS is combining professional expertise with digital technology, intelligence gathering, and inter-agency cooperation to address these threats. Nigeria was the first African country to introduce the electronic passport in 2007 and has since upgraded its e-Passport system with enhanced biometric and security features, digitizing passport processing. Contactless biometric passport services are being deployed for Nigerians abroad, and automated border control systems, including electronic gates, are being installed at international airports.

The service is also investing in surveillance equipment, command and control systems, communications infrastructure, and integrated data platforms for land, air, and