Elections: NIS to deploy personnel for border security

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) says it is intensifying security at the nation’s borders to prevent non-Nigerians from partaking in the forthcoming general elections.

Mr David Parradang, the Comptroller-General of the service, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.

Parradang said this was to ensure peaceful elections in February.

He said that personnel of the service would be deployed to various states during the elections to improve security at voting units.

“We will contribute staff and patrol our borders in such a way that no non-Nigerian will participate in our electoral process,” he said.

The comptroller-general also said that the service had added 30 control posts at the borders to complement the existing 72 control posts, adding that the number was still not enough to achieve adequate security.

He said the service was making efforts to improve on the border patrol corps to enable the organisation patrol and control all legal and illegal border routes.

“We are trying to use the border patrol corps to fill in the gap; that is to cover illegal routes which cannot be reached by the control posts.

“The corps was launched in 2014 with the training of over 1000 officers and these officers have been equipped to patrol illegal routes.

“We have received a lot of support from the Federal Government and the office of the security adviser which has enabled us to train 500 more patrol corps officers,” he said.

Parradang said the border patrol corps had recorded tremendous successes with the arrest of more illegal immigrants, those bringing in fire arms and human traffickers.

He said that although the service had recorded a low point in 2014 with the botched recruitment exercise, all efforts were being made to ensure a hitch-free and fair recruitment. (NAN)