The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, says the installation of e-gates at five of the nation’s international airports has enhanced the nation’s security architecture.
Speaking specifically, Tunji-Ojo said ten wanted persons were arrested in a matter of days due to the improved technology.
The Minister said the gates are integrated to data and watchlist provided by the International Criminal Police Organisation and those of security agencies in Nigeria.
According to him, the e-gates meet international standards which allow criminal activities to be detected and prevented from happening.
He disclosed that the technology can detect fake passports with its advanced passenger information system, adding that the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) now profile passengers before they come into the country through the nation’s airports.
“Automatically, it (e-gates) flags that but I don’t want to discuss too much on that for security reasons but trust me, it is already integrated to watchlists, to Interpol.
“I tell you something, in (a) few days, about 10 people were apprehended who were persons of interest. Nigeria is a no-go area for persons of interest.”
“It’s about being able to pre-empt, being able to know and deduce crime beforehand. That’s what you see in the United States, in the UK, and all over the world.
“They tell you some people are planning terrorism and they have been arrested. You don’t just allow it to happen before you start looking for them. You don’t want people to come into Nigeria, commit atrocities, then you now arrest them after people have lost their lives, after properties have been lost,” he said on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Thursday.
The Minister added that the e-gates technology has removed human interference and interface in immigration operations at the airports.