Immigration Discovers 1, 487 illegal routes into Nigeria

There are about 1,487 illegal routes into Nigeria, Immigration
 Service has reported. Reacting to questions on the leaky nature 
of the nation’s borders, the Minister of Interior, Abba Moro,
 on Tuesday February 5 said apart from
 84 regular borders to the country, the service had taken steps 
by patrolling the illegal routes in order to check the illegitimate 
movement of people and goods into the country, reports claim.

Considering the security challenges facing the nation, the minister
 said the government had taken proactive steps to control the entry 
of illegal people into the country.

“Since I assumed office, we have taken deliberate steps in
 conjunction with National Boundaries Commission to 
identify our borders and the routes that lead to Nigeria 
from other countries, and in the process, we have been able to 
identify 84 regular borders and over 1,487 irregular routes to Nigeria,” Moro said.

“We are contemplating using the Public Private Partnership model 
to see how we can construct graders around our borders. As it is 
today, if you go to many of our land borders, you hardly can define 
when you are in Nigeria and when you are out of it, and that is because 
of the lack of physical structure that will separate Nigeria from the other countries.”

Moro added that there were ongoing plans in progress to use the Public 
Private Partnership model to demarcate further Nigeria borders post with 
her neighbouring countries to make sure better border management and
 construction work would start at some of the border posts to ensure effective 
patrols and better border management before the end of the year.

Moro said the illegal foreigners entering the country at will was not a 
case unique to Nigeria but the NIS was taking  its responsibility of ensuring
 that unauthorised people were removed from the country.