Reps charge Customs, Immigration on tighter borders
The House of Representatives has urged the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to liaise with relevant security agencies to expand their coverage of the nation’s borders.
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion moved by Babatunde Hunpe at plenary presided over by Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila on the need to address the porosity of the country’s gateways.
While presenting the motion, he noted that the large international boundaries under Nigeria’s watch had not been well policed due to insufficient resources and manpower gap.
The development, he added, was greatly affecting the economic, security and social development of the country.
Hunpe stated that the porous nature of the borders had precipitated several crimes that pose serious threats to national security and worsen the hardship in the land.
“The proliferation of arms, illegal immigration and smuggling of expired goods into the country are as a result of the porosity of Nigeria’s borders which also makes it easy for terrorists to carry out their activities, especially in border states like Lagos, Sokoto, Katsina, Jigawa, Yobe, Taraba and Adamawa,” he stated.
