- The minister also gave out the alternative that the federal government put in place in cases of power supply.
Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Minister of Interior, has announced that the federal government’s command center to prevent illegal foreign entry is now fully operational.
Speaking on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” on Tuesday, Tunji-Ojo stated that the center began 24-hour operations on Monday.
Previously, on October 28, the minister revealed plans to establish the command center to curb irregular migration.
The center will rigorously screen individuals entering Nigeria through land borders.
“We did the induction programme about two weeks ago. Just yesterday, we started the 24-hour operation of the command and control centre at Soka, the immigration headquarters in Abuja,” Tunji-Ojo said.
“All our international airports are on it. It’s there, live and direct. Even our land and sea borders are being integrated there because of what we call a regular migration control centre.”
“And the APIS that I promised the other time—that’s the advanced passenger information system—is also live now.”
“We started receiving data from KLM and a lot of others.”
“So, we have started the pre-profiling of people before they come into Nigeria, taking a decision, looking and integrating, which is integrated to the criminal records system, to the Interpol, and a lot of other things I won’t be able to talk deeply into. So, that is live and direct.”
The command center enables authorities to access individuals’ current location, origin, recent movements, and travel route before arrival.
“So, what it means now is that it’s no longer subjective profiling. What we do now is objective profiling, just like you see anywhere in the world.”
“And what we have in Nigeria, it’s not just an API.”
“It’s an IAPI, an interactive API, which is top-notch, the best you can get anywhere in the world, and I challenge anybody to dispute that; we already have that.”
Tunji-Ojo ensured seamless functionality by addressing every detail, from the command center to the visa approval center.
To guarantee uninterrupted operations, the ministry installed a 500kW and 0.5MW solar farm at the control center.
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