Ahead of the elections holding later this month, President Muhammadu Buhari had directed has directed the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to increase the security surveillance of the borders across the country with the aim of tightening them before and during the elections.

Minister Of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola disclosed this during the commissioning of the newly built command complex of the Katsina State Command Headquarters of the Nigeria Immigration Service on Tuesday. The minister said the new directives were given by President Muhammadu Buhari, who insisted that the security to the country’s border be tightened before and after the polls, to avoid penetration by intruders into the country.

Ogbeni Aregbesola noted that the federal government is working to ensure that the credibility of the elections is not marred by ineligible people that may want to participate in the electioneering process. As a response to the directive given by the President, the Minister stated that the Immigration Service would be deploying digital technology to the borders to heighten the security at the borders.

He asked Nigerians to be confident of the government’s readiness for the coming polls, noting that the operatives of the Nigeria Immigration Service are committed to protecting them against undesirable elements that may be planning to disrupt the voting process in the country.

He said “I directed that the Service should tighten our borders and ensure all our National Borders are not breached during and after the forthcoming general elections. “The Order from President Muhammadu Buhari is that between now and the time that we conclude the general elections, our borders must be unbreachable. They should still remain impregnable, even after the elections.

“We don’t want a situation whereby those who are not qualified to vote in Nigeria will come into our nation to illegally participate in the process. We are deploying electronic digital technology to ensure 24/7 inch-by-inch surveillance of the 4,500 kilometres borderline from the eastern part to the western part including coastlines. This is one of the several achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari.

“I informed the officers manning the 14 border positions on the about 400km borderline that the people of Katsina must be confident of our readiness to protect these borders and protect them from undesirable elements”, the minister said.