If you’re a criminal planning to “japa” out of Nigeria unnoticed, you might want to cancel that trip and start praying for mercy instead. According to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), there is no escape route anymore – not through the airport, the border, or even the bush paths that some shady travellers like to use.
During a recent visit to the Lagos State Police Command in Ikeja, the Comptroller of the NIS in Lagos, Aliyu Akadri, issued a serious – yet confidence-boosting – warning: criminals thinking of sneaking out of Nigeria will be caught, no matter how sharp their exit plan is.
“With the kind of technology we now have, there’s no way a criminal can just disappear anymore,” Akadri said with calm assurance. “Even if they use illegal routes or dress like Fulani herders, we go catch am.”
Thanks to new sophisticated gadgets and equipment provided by the Federal Government, immigration officers can now monitor both legal and illegal movement across Nigeria’s borders in real-time.
“Once we get an alert or court order that someone is wanted, we’re on it like white on rice,” Akadri added, not mincing words. “The era of vanishing into thin air is over. If you like, try to pass through Seme or crawl through the forest – we dey wait for you.”
But this isn’t just about chasing after lawbreakers. The visit was also a show of unity between Nigeria’s frontline security agencies. Akadri emphasised that his meeting with the Lagos Commissioner of Police, Mr Olohundare Jimoh, was to strengthen the bond between immigration and police services in battling crime and improving intelligence sharing.
“No agency can fight this battle alone,” Akadri said. “We must all work as one – immigration, police, customs, even civil defence. It’s a group assignment to protect Nigeria.”
And it’s not just talk. Commissioner Jimoh, who welcomed Akadri warmly, backed the call for closer cooperation.
“This visit confirms the solid relationship we’ve had all these years,” the police chief noted. “We must continue working hand in hand, every day, to make Lagos and Nigeria safe.”
He described the partnership between immigration and police as “daily and critical,” and promised to deepen it even further. “We’re serving the same country, and we need to stay on the same page, always.”
The synergy between both forces, he added, would make it harder for criminals to exploit loopholes – and much easier for law-abiding citizens and visitors to feel secure.
With Nigeria’s security challenges constantly evolving, it seems the strategy is shifting from working in silos to moving like a tightly-knit security squad. And with technology doing its part, even the backdoor has now become a checkpoint.
So if you were thinking of booking that one-way trip after “running package,” the message from the immigration boss is clear: Nigeria is watching. And there’s no where to hide.
After all, as we like to say, na who do bad go dey fear border.
