The grand finale of the activities lined up for the Nigerian Immigration Service, (NIS), 60th anniversary held on Thursday at the Archbishop Vining Hall, Ikeja, GRA, Lagos as men and officers appeared in their ceremonial attire, adding a great ambience to the hall.

 2nd left, the chief of staff Lagos State, Mr Tayo Ayinde, 3rd, the ACG K.A. Sodiq and other senior officers and foreign guests.

  From Left, Chief of Staff, Mr Tayo Ayinde Middle left, the Zonal Coorinator, ACG K.A Sodiq and other senior officers.

  ACG K.A. Sodiq and a foreign dignitary.

The event which began on Tuesday, August 1, with a walkout, Wednesday with lectures, concluded in the Thursday’s grand finale which attracted very important dignitaries from the service and special guests. Some of them include; the Lagos State governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by the Chief of Staff, Mr. Tayo Ayinde, Acting Comptroller-General of NIS, Wura-Ola Caroline Adepoju (fsi,pcc+), ACG/Zonal Coordinator, Zone ‘A’ headquarters, Lagos, K.A. Sodiq, (pcc), CIS F.B. Faniran (pcc), Human Resources Management Section, Zone ‘A’ Headquarters, CIS D.O. Odaleje, Officer-In-Charge of Operations, Zone ‘A’ Headquarters, Mr. Idowu Adebowale, former ACG, Osun state command and security consultant, CIS Olufunmilayo Olayemisi, Comptroller, Ogun State command,the Commandant of the Nigeria Customs Training College, Ikeja, Deputy Comptroller H.H. Hadison (psc+,fwc,Ace, the Indian and the Egyptian Communities in Lagos, and many others.

Chief of Staff, Mr Tayo Ayinde with the Zonal coordinator Zone A, ACG K.A Sodiq.

 Foreign representative from Egypt representing gift Items to ACG K.A. Sodiq and other senior officers.

Foreign representative from Egypt representing gift Items to ACG K.A. Sodiq.

Earlier, the Commandant of the Nigeria Customs Training College, Ikeja, Deputy Comptroller H.H. Hadison (psc+,fwc,Ace) delivered a lecture on the theme, “Economic Benefits of Border Security” where he highlighted the role of the Nigerian Immigration Service and the benefits of a secured border.

In a related development, Dr. Willie Eselebu, Consultant on Border and Migration, former Immigration Officer and Lecturer at the University of Ibadan, emphasized the need for capacity building of officers and men of the NIS to be able to curb human trafficking and enhance border security.

In his lecture with the theme,” Nigeria Immigration Service and National Security Concerns”, he also stressed the importance of capacity building of officers and men of NIS in dealing with insurgence and terrorism and by extension internal security of the country and called for a change of strategy.

He maintained that the problem had lingered because before 2018, previous administrations did not have effective border security architecture to be able to closely cover 4,4square Kilometres of Nigerian border.

In an exclusive interview with the guest lecturer said, “What I’m saying is that border security is very important. There’s need to build capacity for Immigration to be able to make our borders, 4,047Square miles of our borders safe from insurgency and terrorism and smuggling of small arms which will also enhance internal security, without that one, you are not likely to curb insecurity, all our security problems will be difficult to deal with internal security because people are being trafficked to Europe through the borders and people have access to small arms and light weapons and people are smuggled through the high sea to Europe and there’s nothing the Immigration can do.

“So, there’s need for training and retraining of officers of NIS. This is our contemporary problem.

“The problem has lingered because the government before, 2018 did not have better border security architecture; there was no serious border policing. You can see what the Americans did because they have border with potential enemies. So, we need to change our strategy to bring about more border policing and it has to happen anytime soon, if it does not happen, we are just wasting time.”

The host of the occasion, ACG K.A Sadiq, in his goodwill message said, ”On this beautiful occasion of NIS 60th Anniversary, I heartily join the entire officers and men of Zone “A” to congratulate the Ag, CGI (Mrs.) Caroline Wuraola Adepoju (fsi,pcc+), as we celebrate 60 years of selfless dedication to the service.

The Zonal Coordinator Zone A, ACG K.A. Sodiq at the ceremony.

“The service has passed through many phases, so, we hereby celebrate our unsung heroes of the past and present for having sailed the boat of success so far. By our core values and mandate in tandem with the vision the Ag. CGIS, the service shall stand tall in her achievements towards building a better national security. Together, we thrive.

“Our most profound appreciation to the Ag. CGIS. And hearty congratulations to NIS with open arms as we soar higher with pride.

The Comptroller of Immigration Service, zone “A”, Headquarters, (Mrs.) M.R. Udoh (pcc+) on her part said, “On behalf of the officers and men of Lagos passport command, I heartily felicitate with the Ag. CGIS, (Mrs.) Caroline Wuraola Adepoju, all officers and men of NIS on the occasion of our Diamond Jubilee.

“The 60 years of NIS’ existence as an agency of government in charge of migration management is full of interesting adventures that have seen the service become a globally reputable brand and soaring higher into space of colourful successes.“We must acknowledge that the sacrifices of our past and present heroes brought the NIS to where we are today, and by God’s grace, we can be assured that the fortunes of the service as Nigeria’s Gatekeeper will only get better and better”.

In like manner, (Mrs.) CIS A.A. Adesokan, Comptroller, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, in her good will message said, “On behalf of all officers and men at the MMIA, we felicitate with the Ag.CGIS Caroline Wura-Ola Adepoju and the entire officers and men of the service on the celebration of our Diamond Jubilee. We wish the NIS many more meaningful years ahead.”

  (Mrs.) CIS A.A. Adesokan, Comptroller, Murtala Muhammed International Airport.

On their part, the association of retired personnel of the NIS called on other retirees of the service to identify with the body and that they would be willing to respond whenever called upon for advice.

A  retired personnel of the NIS at the ceremony.

The expatriate communities added colour and glamour to the event with the display of their music, dance and food respectively.

The expatriate communities displaying their  culture, food , music and dance.

The highlight of the occasion was the presentation of awards to deserving officers particularly the officer at MMIA who found and returned money (Dollars) to a traveler and the presentation of the anniversary cake.

Immigration officer at MMIA who found and returned money (Dollars) to a traveler was presented an award .

A retired officer presented the awardee a flat plasma Television.

(Mrs.) CIS A.A. Adesokan, Comptroller, Murtala Muhammed International Airport rejoicing with officer from MMIA who found and returned money (Dollars) to a traveler.

 

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