FG to use AI to track irregular migrants

The Federal Government has announced a plan to deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI) to carry out a nationwide crackdown on irregular migrants in the country. The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja during the opening ceremony of the 2026 Sectoral Performance Review Retreat of the ministry. While declaring that the government […]

The Federal Government has announced a plan to deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI) to carry out a nationwide crackdown on irregular migrants in the country.

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja during the opening ceremony of the 2026 Sectoral Performance Review Retreat of the ministry.

While declaring that the government now possesses the data to identify and locate those who have overstayed their visas, he said the exercise would be backed by a new AI-driven tracking system that monitors every traveller who has entered the country over the last decade.

“As of today, we have been able to build our Integrated Operations Centre and the Network Operations Centre, which we never had before.

“With that, we can access, in the last 10 years, everybody who has entered, where you came from. We have all your records, we know the exact people who have overstayed in our country, and we will go after them, with due respect, because, outside of Nigeria, they go after the irregular immigrants, and we think we have to protect the sanctity of our borders,” the minister stated.

He added that the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) is migrating into an “internal security enabler and a protector and guardian of our border space.”

Permanent Secretary, Dr Magdalene Ajani, reinforced the call for accountability, stating that leadership is about “devotion, promises, performance, and impact.”

She noted that the role of the ministry’s agencies directly touches the lives of Nigerians daily, making institutional transparency fundamental to national stability.