The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), have resolved to enhance partnerships and cooperation on border security and migration management efforts.
This is contained in a communique released at the end of a three-day workshop of International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and NIS Senior Management in Lagos on Sunday.
The communique was signed by Mr Mohammed Babandede, the Controller-General of Nigeria Immigration Service (CGIS) and IOM Chief of Mission, Mr Franz Celestin.
In the communique, NIS resolved to commit to delivering a safe, humane and orderly border control systems across service windows to improve passengers’ migration experiences.
It also pledged to commit to healthier interagency cooperation between and among relevant border security agencies within and outside the country.
The organisations said they would facilitate efforts to revamp and reinvigorate relationships with traditional institutions and members of border communities to earn their understanding and ownership of border security efforts.
The workshop resolved that more investments be made for dedicated IT officials to have specialized IT skills related to the overall management of Migrant Information Data Analysis System (MIDAS) infrastructure.
Other resolutions include that:
NIS should ensure the activation of its active directory infrastructure to incorporate intranet, dashboard, internal domain, network monitoring portal remote administration platforms among others for border security infrastructures.
NIS to commit to updating the Training Strategy Document and liaise with IOM for support.
NIS to continue to make steady progress on gender mainstreaming especially in staff deployment to border areas.
The retreat exhaustively discussed emerging issues of border security and migration.
Topical matters that gained prominence included a practical sojourn on the NIS Border Management activities that unveiled the various developmental stages of infancy, current state and prospects for the future.
Participants agreed that some progress was made over the years but called for enhanced investment and interests in systems automation and enhanced border community engagements.
They called for Strategic collaboration among border officials at contiguous borderlines as well as improved interoperability of border communication systems among border agencies of countries sharing common borderlines.
They advocated a closer look on the need for the creation of buffer Zones along common borderlines.
They noted that capacity building efforts were critical to operational effectiveness and efficiency and that the ongoing Passport reforms be deepened while processes and procedures for residency be improved to ensure the integrity of the documents.
The retreat was held to deepened the understanding in modern border security and migration movement.
It afforded participants chance to interrogate existing border security and migration operational activities with a view to reinvigorate and reinvent process and procedures for enhanced security and better management of migration.
The NIS gave the assurance to deploy technology such as drones for surveillance on new buffer zones it planned to create between Nigeria and its neighbours to prevent easy penetration of criminals through porous borders.
