NIS Intensifies Surveillance At Borders Ahead of Nationwide Protest

The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Mrs Kemi Nandap, has directed all Zonal Heads, State Command Comptrollers, and Divisional Immigration Officers nationwide to intensify surveillance at the borders.

She also announced the “temporary suspension of all leave applications," following the hunger protest scheduled to commerce from August 1.

The directives were contained in a statement titled, ‘Planned protest: CGIS expresses readiness to secure Nigeria’s borders’, signed by the service public relations officer, Kenneth Udo.

The statement read, “In keeping with the responsibility of safeguarding the nation’s gateways placed on the shoulders of the Service, officers, especially Heads of Border Commands, should rise to the occasion by ensuring that no foreign element can take advantage of the protest to destabilise the country.”

Meanwhile, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has directed protesters who applied to use Eagles Square to apply properly and pay security costs for their scheduled demonstration.

He stated this at a Town Hall Meeting held at the Conference Room of the Federal Capital Development Authority in Abuja, on Saturday.

The ‘Take It Back Movement,’ through its Director of Mobilisation, Damilare Adenola, had written to Wike, requesting to use the facility for its protest and also asked for the provision of security and utilities for the duration of the exercise.

However, the minister said, “I’m just reading on social media that they have applied to grant the Eagle Square to them. Do you apply to me through social media? You will write a letter to the Minister, I will see you, who are you, what do you want to do, how many days will you spend, how much will you pay?

“I watched them on Channels TV news telling the IG I have applied. You don’t apply to me through Channels; you must apply properly. You must pay what we call security cost, so that if there’s any damage to the facility, we will take that security cost and repair it. We don’t just give people just because they have applied; you’ll fulfil the conditions.”