Former Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Mohammad Babandede, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to establish a closer working relationship between the Nigeria Immigration Service and the Nigeria Customs Service to enhance national border management and strengthen internal security.
Babandede made the call while reflecting on global border security practices. He cited the example of the United States, where the government brought Immigration and Customs closer together after the September 11 attacks. The integration, he said, allowed both agencies to coordinate more effectively and manage both people and goods at entry points with greater efficiency.
According to Babandede, such collaboration has become critical in Nigeria as both agencies perform interdependent functions that directly affect the safety, economy, and image of the country.
He explained that a traveller and a trader are essentially the same in border operations because people and goods move together. “You cannot separate the movement of goods from the movement of persons carrying those goods,” Babandede stated. He argued that this reality underscores the need for deliberate investment in partnership and technology-driven collaboration between both agencies.
The former Immigration boss emphasised that closer cooperation between Immigration and Customs would enhance the country’s ability to combat cross-border crimes such as smuggling, human trafficking, and illegal migration. He stressed that improved synergy could also help strengthen Nigeria’s economic frontiers through smarter migration and trade facilitation policies.
In his words, “The two agencies must deliberately innovate their systems and work together to achieve a coordinated fight against cross-border criminality.” Babandede called for the institutionalisation of joint task forces, integrated data systems, and shared intelligence networks between Immigration and Customs to ensure real-time responses to emerging threats.
Beyond agency collaboration, Babandede decried what he described as “great negligence” in the role of migration management within Nigeria’s national development framework. He lamented that migration is often treated merely as a security issue, whereas it is also an economic and social development factor.
“The border is not just a security zone. It’s a cultural zone; it’s a historic zone; it’s economic as well,” Babandede explained. He called on the Federal Government to invest in the establishment of buffer zones and improved cross-border connectivity to foster cooperation with neighbouring countries.
He maintained that migration, when properly managed, could serve as a catalyst for national development. “Migration is key to our development. Nigeria must invest in the type of people we filter in and the type of people we filter out,” he said.
Babandede further advised that the government should conduct regular analyses of the kinds of jobs migrants do and their impact on the economy. He stressed that such assessments would help the country determine which migration flows contribute to productivity and which undermine national goals.
“We need to remove people who are undermining our development,” Babandede concluded, reinforcing his position that sound migration governance begins with efficient collaboration between Immigration and Customs.
By aligning both agencies under a unified operational vision, Babandede believes Nigeria can move closer to achieving secure borders, sustainable migration management, and stronger economic integration within the West African region.
