The border corps is expected to be fully equipped with digital infrared cameras and other hi-tech gadgets and would be dedicated solely to the protection of entry points to the country.
Investigations by our correspondent indicated that the corps would be well armed, fully kitted in camouflage and would be on motorised patrol at the borders round the clock while deploying hand scanners and other security equipment to detect and stop illegal aliens.
Already, the Comptroller-General of Immigration, David Parradang, has submitted a proposal to the government to approve the recruitment of 5,000 personnel for the corps. The 5,000 recruits are apart from those that would be drawn from the immigration service.
Our correspondent learnt on Tuesday that the financial outlay for the corps, including the salaries, insurance and other benefits that the personnel would enjoy, was being worked out.
Findings indicated that some foreign security firms had made presentations to the Ministry of Interior and the CGI on border management but the NIS was yet to choose the particular proposal that it finds suitable for the country.
The PUNCH learnt that the government considered tripling the number of NIS staff to enable the service contend with the security challenges in the country, following complaints by Parradang that the immigration service lacked sufficient personnel.
The NIS Public Relations Officer, Emeka Obua, who confirmed the planned establishment of the border corps, explained that the corps would be a division of the immigration service and it would be dedicated solely to border protection.
"The Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, has been working tirelessly with the CGI to ensure that the border corps is established by the Federal Government. The corps will be in charge of border protection and they will be fully equipped with the latest security equipment to stop terrorists and other irregular immigrants from breaching our borders; the formation of the corps would be announced in due course," Obua said.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Interior has requested the assistance of the Republic of Poland to tackle the security challenges facing the country.
Speaking when the Polish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Przemyslaw Niesiolowski, paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja on Tuesday, Moro said the relationship between the two countries would be further deepened with the new visa regime introduced by the immigration service.
He added that Polish businessmen were welcome to invest in various aspects of the Nigerian economy, telling the ambassador that Nigeria has the largest market in Africa and the visa regime was meant to encourage serious investors to explore the opportunities the nation offered.
Source: The Punch
0 comments: