We’ll go after irregular migrants, FG declares

...Says, NSCDC VIP protection must be corruption-free
.’2027 Polls won’t distract me from our mandate’

By Omeiza Ajayi

ABUJA: The Federal Government has announced a decisive nationwide crackdown on irregular migrants, backed by a new AI-driven tracking system that monitors every traveler who has entered the country over the last decade.

Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja during the 2026 Sectoral Performance Review Retreat of the ministry, declaring that the government now possesses the data to identify and locate those who have overstayed their visas.

“In NIS, I know we are doing a lot already. As of today, we have been able to build our Integrated Operations Centre and the Network Operations Centre which we never had before. With that, we can access, in the last 10 years, everybody who has entered, where you came from, everything, we have all your records, we have everything, we know the exact people who have overstayed in our country, and we will go after them, with due respect, because, outside of Nigeria, they go after the irregular immigrants and we think we have to protect the sanctity of our borders,” the minister stated.

He added that the Nigeria Immigration Service NIS is migrating into an “internal security enabler and a protector and guardian of our border space.”

Addressing the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps NSCDC, the Minister insisted that specialized security services must be democratized and stripped of influence-peddling.

He maintained that NSCDC VIP protection must be “corruption-free, where the son of a nobody will have the chance of being protected without knowing anybody.”

Charging the Corps to lead the fight against economic terrorism, he emphasized that protection should be available to any citizen facing a genuine threat “without knowing the Commandant General or anybody.”

The minister also turned his attention to the National Identity Management Commission NIMC, asserting that partial success in data collection is not enough for national security.

“A lot of people have been captured, a lot of progress has been made but not until every Nigerian has been captured, we cannot say we have succeeded,” he told the commission’s leadership.

Despite the approaching political season, Dr Tunji-Ojo reassured the public that the ministry remains focused on its core security objectives, stating that the “2027 polls won’t distract us from our mandate.”

He warned agency heads that the era of business as usual was over, noting that “there will be repercussions and consequences for non-delivery of targets” in this “era of business unusual.”

The retreat further highlighted a need for fundamental reform in the correctional sector to reduce recidivism.

Dr Tunji-Ojo argued that a system where individuals repeatedly return to custody is a failure of reformation.

“Anybody who goes in there must be reformed and transformed,” he noted, stressing that the goal is to reach a point where recidivism is close to zero.

Permanent Secretary, Dr Magdalene Ajani, reinforced the call for accountability, stating that leadership is about “devotion, promises, performance, and impact.”

She noted that the role of the ministry’s agencies directly touches the lives of Nigerians daily, making institutional transparency fundamental to national stability.

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