Immigration Boss Says Border Closure Keeps Nigeria Secured
The Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Mr. Mohammed Babandede, has said closing Nigeria’s borders keeps the nation secured.
He stated this on Monday during an interview on Channels Television’s News-night.
According to him, “It is good Nigeria closes its borders. It is good Nigeria muzzles up a little bit to show that we are a country and that we care about our security and economy”.
He noted that the borders need to be secured to avoid illegal entry and other criminal activity. He also emphasized the need for better cooperation with other neighboring countries to tackle unlawful entry and criminal activities.
The immigration boss clarified that while the nation’s borders were shut down, neighboring countries recognized the Buhari’s led administration’s political will.
He said, “Nigeria has spoken with a political voice through actions. That is why you see greater cooperation from our neighbors.
“I am glad in terms of immigration, within the period we closed the borders, we have received a lot of people who have left our territory through the unlawful path. Those people, we have taken to court and prosecuted them,” he added.
It would be recalled that the Nigeria border was closed on August 19, 2019, which led to public outcry admits reasons noted by the government, to curtail illegal importation of drugs, small arms, and agricultural products into the country from neighboring West African nations.
After 16 months of border closure, which restricted the importation of foreign products to curtail smuggling and encourage patronage of locally produced goods, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the reopening of four main borders on December 16, 2020.
The borders opened includes South- West Seme border, the North- West, Ilela border, the South-South Mfun border, and the North-West Maigatari border.
Meanwhile, social media users have reacted to the comments made by the immigration boss. See reactions.
