As Nigeria gets set to shut her borders ahead of the coming general elections, the Nigeria Immigration Service, (NIS), has confiscated 6, 216 identity documents including Nigerian voters card and National Identity Card, (ID cards) issued by the National Identify Management Commission, ( NIMC).
Comptroller General, NIS Isah Idris, made this known during a one-day retreat for all state Comptrollers in preparation for the smooth conduct of the general election, yesterday in Abuja.
He explained that the voters and ID cards were intercepted across 21 states, mostly the border states due to the stepping up of surveillance by men and officers of the NIS.
Briefing the media on preparations, the CG said that non-Nigerians are not permitted to vote hence the agency is taking necessary measures to ensure the apprehension and eased out of the country to the prevention of such individuals from voting during the polls.
“The general election is an opportunity for us to showcase our proficiency in Border Management and intelligent gathering experiences.
“We are all aware of the importance the Federal Government attaches to election generally and in particular, this 2023 general election which ends the 8 years tenure of the present administration and by extension marks 24 years of uninterrupted return to democracy in our dear country,” he said.
To this end, “I also use this opportunity to commend the various Command Comptrollers who eased out irregular migrants in their commands as a result of various Immigration offences.
“This period calls for the highest level of security awareness among all personnel and any acts of compromise shall be treated as sabotage against our national security.”
Showcasing the confiscated documents, he said the NIS has reached out to NIMC TO expunge the documentation of the imposters in its data bank to prevent they are getting another ID cards and voters cards
According to Idris, the service has introduced an electric border management surveillance where it uses technology to monitor activities at the borders of the country for efficiency and better protection of the nation’s borders.
He noted that borders are usually closed during the elections to avoid incursion by foreigners and interruptions meant to destabilise the process.
