Tinubu’s bold reforms transforming borders, passports, correctional security- Tunji-Ojo, Interior Minister

In the wake of the recent jailbreak in Nasarawa and other parts of North Central, Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has emphasised that securing correctional centres requires proactive and preventive measures, not just reactive responses. Speaking on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’, Ojo highlighted President Bola Tinubu’s bold initiatives to modernise facilities, strengthen infrastructure, and foster federal-state collaboration to safeguard prisons nationwide. David Lawani monitored the interview

How far have we covered to secure our vast borders remotely?

The beautiful thing is that when we come on air to speak, we speak with empirical facts and figures. Also, we provide benchmarks so that whenever we return, you can critically evaluate our statements against our actual achievements. The last time I was here, I noted that we were closing in on completing the first phase of e-border solutions. I am happy to tell you that it has been completed. That has been done. And then I said that immediately, we would commence phase two because what we have achieved now is not the entire span of our border. Our border is quite expansive. It is big. It is about 4,024 square kilometres. And of course, you can imagine the financial implications of securing the over 4,000 kilometres of our border space. But the first phase is done. And today, there is a visible improvement in terms of our border. The level of impact that these solutions have had over the last couple of months can be felt by the improvement in our security within the border space. I am also pleased to inform you that phase two was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at its meeting yesterday. This phase is not just about securing our borders but also about e-internal security. We must look at our correctional centres, critical assets protected by the NSCDC, and other security priorities. The whole idea of phase two is not only to focus on NIS and border security, but to give equal attention to all other agencies. This new approval to deploy e-internal security solutions is one that we hope to start very soon.

We have three types of borders: air, land and sea. When you say phase one, which of these are you referring to? Is it the land, sea or air borders?

Let me say this very clearly. When it comes to our air borders, it is emphatically proven that we have one of the best in the world. I can say it anywhere. Your air borders mean your airports and related entry points. When this government came on board, there was nothing like the API, the Advance Passenger Information. It was not available. API was a UN Security Council resolution as far back as 2006, but Nigeria never had it. API is the device immigration officers require to do detailed profiling of inbound passengers. That means, before somebody comes into Nigeria, you can profile the person, have the records, and cross-check them against global security databases, criminal records, and travel patterns. That is why, when you get to Heathrow or JFK in New York, they either admit you or flag you. It is because they have already profiled you and analysed your history. That is objective profiling. We never had that before President Tinubu came into power. But I am happy to say that Nigeria now has a lighthouse project in Africa. That is how IATA describes our Command and Control API Project, as the Lighthouse of Africa. It is one of the best anywhere in the world. This government has been able to do that. When you go to our airports today, you will see our e-gates. What this means is that when a Nigerian comes in, you put your passport, and even if it is a fake one, the system will not read it, and you won’t be able to pass. And of course, that record goes into our database at the Command and Control Centres. That has been done. Also, into the broader security architecture, the PKI and PKD, which determine the integrity of our travel documents, have been established by this administration. So basically, when you look at the requirements at Heathrow, JFK, Shanghai, or any major airport in the world, what you see there is what you now see in our air border systems in Nigeria. Don’t forget, we came from a position where, just two years ago, we had no API, no PKI, and no e-gates.

Has the integrity of the Nigerian passport increased?

Definitely. It was stated a couple of weeks ago by the Henley Report. Nigeria has, for the first time, moved forward in terms of passport integrity.

In the past, Nigeria’s passport was the easiest to clone, duplicate or forge. What happened?

That is what I am saying.

Things have changed now?

I tell you, you are in for a wonderful surprise. As of September 1st, the government has taken the matter to the FEC, and Mr President graciously approved it. No country in the world supports the production of multiple passports from different locations. That was what we inherited. But today, when you get to the NIS office in Sokoto, you will see a multi-billion naira personalisation centre which can generate about 14,000 passports per hour, per day. Our full capacity today is less than 10,000. So it means that even within one hour, we have the capacity. This means that you personalise all passport production. If you apply for an American passport, it won’t be printed here. They print it in America and send it here. Because your passport is a security document, it is not just a means of identification. It is a security document, and it is the property of the Nigerian government.

Nigerian passports were once printed in Oluwole, Lagos. How come?

All those features are gone. Now, we have a database, one of the biggest data centres in Nigeria, in Sokoto. When we came on board, we had two passports in circulation. We had the A-series and the B-series. Non-enhanced passports were still being used before President Tinubu came on board. So it meant that if you went to an airport and two Nigerians were in the queue, both of them could be carrying different passports. But today, there is only one passport that we issue all over the world, and that is the enhanced passport, the B-series. Everywhere, we have harmonised that.

What does that do for Nigeria?

It is for the integrity of Nigeria and its documents.

Does that protect the rights of a Nigerian person?

It is the integrity of your documents. That is number one. Then your passport is the same. You are supposed to have just one passport. Additionally, it was challenging initially because, upon joining two years ago, our passports were not linked to the ICAO’s updated PKI and PKD. PKI means Public Key Infrastructure Directory. It is where all passport certificates are uploaded to. ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) uses this for global references and verification. Nigeria was not there. It meant that testing the integrity of your passport at various airports was a problem. Last year, this government took that action. To the glory of God, Nigeria today has its passports on the PKID and ICAO standard.

I understand that at our airports, especially in Lagos, there is a security fixture that can identify anyone from wherever they are coming from. Is that what we have now?

I don’t want to go into details because of the security implications. Everything we did was based on partnership. Mr President will always tell us whenever we are in the FEC: learn how to get water out of the dry well. It is not about budgeting but about project management and creative thinking. That is what Mr President taught us. And that is one thing we have tried to do in the Ministry of Interior. Some of the things we are talking about are based on vision because innovation drives the world. What I am saying from the outset is that our air border is tight.

Can you remotely see what is going on there?

I am not going to give you details. But anything you can feel and see in airports around the world, you can see here as well.

Are you going to do similar things at our land borders? Where can you remotely see what goes on?

Exactly. That is what we are doing. Because security all over the world has gone beyond detection, it is preventive. Proactive security. So, what we are trying to do is have eyes in the sky — to have an eagle’s view.

So you can digitally monitor all our borders?

Let me tell you something. The NIS of today is not the NIS we knew years ago. It is a new NIS. We had two passport regimes; this government has one. We then had 59 passport personalisation centres in Nigeria and across the world. But today, by the grace of God, we have completed the building, and it is the biggest passport personalisation centre that we have in the African continent.

Nigeria recorded over 7,000 inmates who escaped from at least 17 jailbreaks from 2015 to 2023. Why do we keep seeing these jailbreaks happen? One in Kuje. What are your facts?

Not under this government.

There was a prison break in Nasarawa. What measures are you taking to ensure the safety and security of our correctional centres?

When you said it is like five or whatever, I said no. Two, when you said 7,000, with due respect, we do understand as a government that we inherited assets and liabilities. But the simple truth is that from 2015 to 2023, this government was not in power. Breaks occur in the middle of the night, such as when the fence fell in Niger State, specifically in Suleja. It was then that we realised our record systems and biometrics were not up to date. Immediately, we worked on that. The key issue, of course, is that, yes, people try to escape. But once they escape, you do everything to make sure you get them back. Aside from that, we had the flood in Maiduguri. That was nobody’s fault. Because you know what happened to the dam. There was a disaster and everything. The whole correctional centre in Maiduguri was over flooded. And that was not the fault of the government or Nigeria’s Correctional Service. The incident that occurred a few days ago is under investigation. About 16 people escaped. We have digitalised our biometrics system. We have established a partnership with the security agencies. The security agencies are more equipped to react. I can tell you that out of the 16 that escaped, we have arrested 7. It is the remaining 9. I know we are working, and hopefully, within the next couple of days, we will be able to get the remaining nine back. Now, flashback to what we used to have. When people escaped, we found it challenging to get them back. But now, we are doing our best to ensure the security of our correctional centres. Mr President didn’t become president 100 years ago. We have about 246 correctional centres. And out of these, none under this particular administration has suffered a significant break. The one in Ikoyi is something I always like to talk about. That was established in 1956. And when we had a jailbreak in Suleja, I think it was established in 1914. And there are so many other correctional centres that are 100 years old. Some are 70, while others are 60 years old. Some of these facilities are old. But when you look at this particular government, what it has been able to do in the last two years is not easy. For example, regarding Port Harcourt prison, which was in a bad state, the present government has been able to intervene. Recently, major surgeries were held in Kuje Correctional Centre. That is even beyond infrastructure and covers medical facilities. When this government came on board, we encountered scenarios where there was no doctor available in the correctional centres. However, Mr President came and employed 50 doctors and 100 nurses, and also approved that NYSC doctors should be posted to correctional centres. Since then, we have had drugs as a challenge, but this administration has been able to provide drugs. We are not yet where we want to be.

How many of the 246 correctional centres have you fixed in terms of infrastructure?

As we speak, about 12 correctional centres are undergoing rehabilitation.

Correctional centres under the states, what is going on within them?

Don’t forget correctional centres are on the concurrent list. It means that the Federal and state governments have joint responsibility. The Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and I are discussing the issue so we can take it up with some of the governors. Because the issue of correctional centres is beyond what the Federal Government can handle alone, it is a shared responsibility between the federal and state governments. We believe we can work out a synergy with states that want their correctional centres, which, by law, they are entitled to have. We must also understand that 72% of our inmates are state offenders. About 67% are awaiting trial. Two-thirds are state offenders. The key issue for me is that I dislike buck-passing or shifting blame. As Mr President often says, we were elected to produce results, not make excuses. We are not here to make excuses. As a government, we will interface with our governors. We will come together to develop a shared strategy for addressing these correctional issues. However, I must note that this administration has made significant strides over the last two years in allocating resources to address our correctional centres.

Won’t that be an innovation in the system?

INEC is in charge of elections. We will work with INEC to create an enabling environment, provided that is their intention. We don’t decide what INEC wants or does. It is an independent body under the law. They have the power to conduct elections and organise. Our responsibility is to give them the necessary support. And of course, the correctional centres will create the enabling environment if INEC decides to go ahead with it.

What are the ideas and techniques you are using to fortify these correctional centres?

A lot is going on. As I said, we have 246 correctional centres. You cannot realistically expect Mr President to fix 246 locations. In each area, you can have about 10 structures within two years. What we are doing is collaborating. A lot of progress has been made, no doubt. We are not yet where we want to be, but we are not where we were. We have support from other security agencies, but we got massive support from the Department of State Services (DSS). We want to express our appreciation to the Nigerian military for their enormous support. There is a lot of pro-activeness and intelligence work that goes into these things. Despite still having structural issues inherited on a massive level, we have 12 correctional centres undergoing serious work. We cannot finish the 246 centres in one day. But to make up for that, and to be proactive, we are pushing for intelligence-driven correctional protection services. In other parts of the world, the work of the fire service is beyond putting out fires.

The capacity of this agency to respond to emergencies has been compromised. Infrastructure and equipment-wise, there is nothing to write home about. What have you done to reverse this ugly perception by the public?

As an agency of the government, you can only be as efficient as you are allowed to be. And we are democrats. We understand the position of the rule of law. The Fire Service Act is an Act of 1963. Regular fire services around the world are primarily focused on rescue and emergency services. They perform rescue operations in emergencies. The responsibility of fire services includes operational, regulatory, and accreditation powers. For example, when building a house, emergency exits and other necessary features are supposed to be part of it. But the law does not give them that power. We are working very seriously with the National Assembly to repeal the former laws and enact a new Fire and Rescue Service Act. It is in the Senate. The House has passed it. The Senate under Comrade Adams Oshiomhole is working on it. When they resume, they will be able to do that. Also, everywhere you see fire services, you cannot divorce private sector participation.

Fire service operations?

Who is in charge of emergency medical services (EMS) anywhere in the world? It is the fire service. And you must bring private sector participation into it. But that is only if the law allows you. Repealing and enacting a workable, user-friendly, private-sector-friendly, and regulatory-friendly Act will go a long way in solving more than 80 to 90% of the fire service challenges.

What is this visa policy about, especially on reciprocity? Why is Nigeria experiencing this kind of treatment from some of these countries?

When you talk about reciprocity that is not true. The US came back, a week after the first statement, and released another one. The change was not based on reciprocity. They came back with a rider to the original statement. I will leave that to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who I believe is doing a yeoman’s job behind the scenes. There are back-channel efforts to tackle these issues.