As part of efforts to ease the suffering of Nigerians/foreigners travelling out or returning into the country, the federal government has installed 30-second biometric clearance gates for the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) at all international airports across the country.
The facilities would ensure effective and efficient management of international passengers in the country, the minister of interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has said.
Tunji-ojo said the biometric gates can screen and clear a passenger within 30 seconds without any interface or contact with immigration personnel.
He stated this yesterday in Abuja when he undertook a tour of the new biometric equipment installed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja and the Command and Control Centre at the NIS headquarters, also in the nation's capital.
The minister said the facilities would be ready in Lagos, Port-Harcourt, Kano, Abuja and Enugu in March.
He said Lagos would have 17 gates while 10 gates would be installed in Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano would have five each and Enugu four.
The minister added that the Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS) as well as the Command and Control Centre facilities had been integrated not just for seamless entry and exit for passengers, but to add another layer to the national security architecture.
Tunji-Ojo who was led round the facilities by the comptroller of immigration in charge of the Abuja International Airport, Mohammed Adamu, said with the recent addition, "whatever is happening within the airports' domains would be seen in real-time at the Command and Control Centre to enable security agencies monitor effectively, persons of interest entering the country."
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Addressing newsmen after the inspection, the minister said he was impressed by the level and pace of work carried out at the international wing of the airport.
He said, "The facilities are about 70 percent ready. This means our border control management system is on track. It also means that the Nigeria Immigration Service is ready to contribute its quota to the National Security Architecture.
"The efficiency of the services provided by the NIS determines whatever we see in our security outlook as a nation. All these are being done in line with global best practices and standards and in consonance with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu to provide quality services to Nigerians.
"We have decided that the more the gates at the airports, the easier it would be for passengers to be cleared. And looking at the ones that have been tested, it takes about 30 seconds for a passenger to clear. So, I look at the solutions and the hardware, and I think they are a top-notch," he said
