Nigeria Immigration Begins Training Of 500 Border Patrol Team
Adetokunbo Fakeye
Five hundred border patrol of Immigration officers are now undergoing training on boarder management in an effort to reduce the increasing number of illegal immigrants trooping into Nigeria and the influx of insurgents from the north east.
At the flag-off ceremony of the exercise at the immigration training school in Kano State, Nigeria, on Monday, the Comptroller of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Mr David Paradang, said the border patrol unit would work with other agencies to ensure better border security management.
The officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service, drown from various immigration commands and formation across Nigeria, were specially selected to fully provide adequate security to Nigerian borders said to be highly porous over the years.
The officers are expected to be trained on techniques of apprehending illegal immigrants and checking documents, importation of illegal arms, self-defence and liaising with the Nigerian customs services and other security agencies in identifying people with questionable characters and goods not approved by the Nigerian government.
Nigeria Immigration Service according to information had no powerful border patrol unit, which has now been established to complement the effort of other security institutions in the fight against crime and insurgency.
Insurgents are said to have free access into Nigeria and out of the country through the border that has had poor control and checks mechanisms.
Additional 500 officials of the Border Patrol Unit according to the service will be trained at the second phase later in the year, but the number may not be enough to secure all Nigerian boarder posts.