Date: 2018-06-24

A community leader in Omu-Aran, Irepodun LGA of Kwara, Chief Jide Adebayo has urged the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to open more registration centres for aliens.

Adebayo, who was recently installed as the new Eesa of Omu-Aran Traditional Council of Chiefs, made the call when a team from NIS paid courtesy visit to Olomu’s palace in Omu-Aran.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the team led Mrs Grace Adeoye, an Assistant Comptroller of Immigration Kwara command, was at the palace to deliver a message from the Director General of NIS.

Adebayo, a former NAN Executive Director, Marketing, said such intervention would afford the nation to have a fair idea of the population and statistics of aliens, especially at the grassroots.

He expressed the need for NIS management to step up its internal security machinery through proper surveillance of the nation's border posts to achieve desired success.

Adebayo said that the porous nature of borders nationwide was responsible for the influx of many illegal aliens into the country.

According to him, in this era of global terrorism every nation has a duty to control infiltration of its towns and villages by illegal immigrants who are generally becoming national security threats.

The community leader said issues bordering on internal security should be a collective of the police and other security agencies including inputs of locals for effective combat.

"They are suppose to complement each other in their surveillance, plans and programmes.

"Internal security will remain a huge challenge at the grassroots without adequate inputs of other relevant agencies including locals in security operations, " he said.

Adebayo urged the NIS to respect the Federal Government's Federal character policy by employing people from the locality where it operates.

The Eesa assured NIS of the continue support of Omu-Aran community toward improvement of security in the area.

"It was in the spirit of such support that the Omu-Aran community built three additional police posts, donated two security vans and recently furnished NIS office," he said.

Adeoye, in her remark, said the visit was meant to express the NIS management appreciation over the recent renovation and furnishing of its office accommodation in the area.

She promised that the community would continue to fill the impact of NIS in the services of Immigrants registration and controls and other areas. (NAN)