The Federal Government has deported 828 illegal immigrants in 2024 as part of efforts to curb irregular migration and improve national security.
Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this during a media briefing in Abuja yesterday. He also revealed that 137 victims of human trafficking were rescued within the past year.
To enhance border security, the government has modernized immigration processes. Nigerian passports are now integrated into the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Public Key Directory for seamless global verification. A centralised Visa Approval Centre has also been set up in Abuja to streamline visa processing.
Additionally, an 8.3-petabyte data center, the largest in Nigeria, has been built to support these reforms. Solar-powered infrastructure has been introduced to ensure uninterrupted operations, while a new Command and Control Centre now monitors all land and air entry points in real time.
The minister also highlighted improvements in passport issuance, stating that the Nigeria Immigration Service cleared a backlog of 200,000 applications in just three weeks in 2023 and has issued 1,836,533 passports in 2024.