Nigeria Immigration Service Enhances Security with AI Tools

The federal government of Nigeria is deploying artificial intelligence-assisted tools and digital audit trails within the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to improve border security, identify suspicious migration patterns, and ensure officer accountability. Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo announced these initiatives on Friday during the closing ceremony of a specialized training program on border control and immigration management at the NIS headquarters in Abuja.

He emphasized the need for modernization in immigration operations, highlighting a 10-year technology roadmap and a data center with over eight petabytes of capacity. This initiative aims to integrate various information systems across the Ministry of Interior, addressing the challenges posed by outdated analogue processes.

Tunji-Ojo criticized the official record of approximately 40,000 foreign nationals working in Nigeria, arguing for better data and coordination among agencies. He underscored the importance of reliable information for managing foreign nationals and referenced the September 11, 2001 attacks as a cautionary example of the consequences of intelligence failures.