The Nigeria Immigration Service is accelerating the deployment of digital identity systems, automated border controls and intelligence-led surveillance to strengthen Nigeria’s borders while preserving legitimate travel and cross-border trade.
NIS Comptroller-General Kemi Nandap announced the plans on Monday in Lagos at the 2026 conference of the African Borderlands Research Network, where researchers, policymakers and security practitioners examined changing security and economic conditions across African border regions.
Nandap said Nigeria’s borders were increasingly exposed to human trafficking, migrant smuggling, identity fraud, organised crime, terrorism and cyber-enabled offences. She said the changing nature of these threats required stronger cooperation between immigration authorities, security agencies and other institutions.
Nigeria has been moving towards technology-driven border administration for nearly two decades, with the country becoming the first in Africa to introduce the electronic passport in 2007. The NIS has since upgraded its e-Passport with enhanced biometric and security features and digitised processes including applications, payments and identity verification.
The service is also deploying contactless biometric passport services, while automated border control systems, including electronic gates, are being introduced at international airports to speed up passenger processing through biometric verification.
Beyond airports, Nandap said the NIS was investing in surveillance equipment, command and control systems, communications infrastructure and integrated data platforms covering Nigeria’s land, air and maritime borders. She stressed, however, that technology would support rather than replace trained immigration personnel and professional judgement.
Nandap also called for stronger partnerships with communities in border areas, describing them as important sources of local intelligence. Researchers at the conference similarly urged governments to view borderlands not only as security zones but also as centres of trade, cultural exchange and urban development.
