Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) blocked 332 migrants at Seme Border after they failed to produce valid travel documents, Comptroller‑General Mrs Kemi Nandap announced on Tuesday in Abuja during a one‑day stakeholders’ sensitisation seminar titled “Evolving Patterns in Smuggling of Migrants: Towards a Coordinated National Response.”

NIS Comptroller‑General, Mrs  Kemi Nandap

Nandap highlighted the Service’s recent achievements, noting that the NIS had strengthened its legal and institutional frameworks while expanding training programmes to improve officers’ capacity to detect and prevent smuggling activities.

“Recently, the border patrol at Seme denied entry to 332 migrants without valid travel documents. “In addition, 294 Nigerians, suspected of attempting irregular migration under the ‘Japa Syndrome,’ were stopped from leaving the country,” she said.

She added that 36 victims of human trafficking and child labour were rescued at the border, successes made possible through the installation of new CCTV cameras at strategic locations.

The Immigration boss assured that NIS will keep collaborating with international and regional partners — including the AU, ECOWAS, EU, IOM, UNODC, INTERPOL, and the Federal German Police — to boost intelligence‑sharing and joint operations.

“The fight against the smuggling of migrants is not only a security imperative but also a moral responsibility. Every smuggled migrant represents a life at risk and a family disrupted,” Nandap said.

She urged government agencies, international organisations, civil society, and the private sector to keep up the collaboration, noting that no single institution can tackle migrant smuggling alone.

Our success depends on acting as one national front guided by protection, accountability, and human dignity. Together, we can build a Nigeria where safe and regular migration becomes the norm,” she added.