Despite the Nigerian government’s multibillion-naira border surveillance systems, which were introduced in 2019, unlawful migrants from the Republics of Benin, Chad, Niger, Mali, and Cameroon—some of whom have been recognised as terrorists, bandits, and kidnappers—continue to enter Nigeria.
According to Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, e-border surveillance is currently being implemented across the country’s borders with its neighbours.
“More than half of our borders are automated as of right now. There are images and numerous procedures in progress. Therefore, e-border surveillance is already essentially present at our borders.
“Our marine borders will be included in the first phase of the e-border monitoring project, which will be completed by October 2024. Both the air and the ground are now under our command and control. Without technology, it is impossible to successfully safeguard your borders,” Tunji-Ojo stated in a live national television programme in May 2024.
In early December 2024, the minister announced that around 250 skilled Immigration Service employees work around the clock at the e-border control centre for the opening of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Technology Innovation Complex.
Even after the Nigerian government closed the border, some foreigners continued to enter Nigeria from the Republic of Benin via the Baruten/Kaiama border checkpoints.
Illegal immigrants continue to enter the country daily, according to residents of border settlements in Kwara State’s Baruten Local Government Area.
Speaking to reporters, Abdulrasheed Abdullahi, the immediate past chairman of the Baruten Local Government Council, stated that people from the Benin Republic continue to enter the nation illegally through different routes.
“The border posts have been closed since 2020 to increase security during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, but this hasn’t stopped our neighbours, the Benin Republic, from entering the country,” he said.
Abdullahi, who stepped down as council chairman in September 2024, continued, “The e-border control system that was put in place to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the country had not stopped their citizens from entering Nigeria.”
To monitor and send real-time information from major border posts across the country, the Federal Executive Council authorised N52 billion for the e-border surveillance system in 2019.
However, financial difficulties caused the project to be delayed, and it didn’t start until 2022. Nigeria’s vast borders—roughly 5,330 km long—present constant security threats and are home to several illicit entrance locations. Since then, the Nigeria Immigration Service reports that it has implemented cutting-edge e-border solutions at more than 80 crossing locations around the country, completing the first phase of the project.
According to the report, the e-border system provides round-the-clock, real-time intelligence and surveillance, facilitating improved border activity tracking and management.
Foreigners enter the area daily, according to Umoru Usman, the Emir of Yashikira, a border village in Baruten LGA, who spoke to the media on Monday.
Usman clarified: “The people from the Benin Republic, who are our neighbours, continued to cross the border despite the border closure and the e-border control system that the Nigerian government put in place to prevent illegal immigration into the country. These actions are all taken by the government to ensure security.” We are unable to provide a certain number, but individuals continue to cross the borders every day.”
