…As ICPC seeks inclusion in Immigration recruitment, procurement processes
By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA: The Federal Government has described corruption as an “existential threat” to Nigeria’s national security, border governance and migration management, warning that administrative failures within key agencies create dangerous avenues for transnational crimes.
Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service CGIS, Kemi Nanna Nandap declared this on Thursday in Abuja, during the inauguration of the Service’s Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit ACTU Desk Officers.
She emphasized that the fight against graft is inseparable from the agency’s primary mandate of securing Nigeria’s borders, adding that corruption is a major administrative failing and an existential threat to national security, economic development and Nigeria’s international standing.
According to her, these failings erode public confidence, weaken the rule of law and create avenues for transnational crimes.
The CGIS sais the NIS stands as a “critical sentinel” at the nation’s gateways, and the authority entrusted to the service carries an uncompromising obligation to uphold the highest standards of integrity, professionalism and accountability.
She warned anyone who might want to obstruct these efforts, stating that the effectiveness of the Desk Officers rests significantly on the support of Command Comptrollers and Heads of Formations.
Nandap insisted that they must provide an enabling environment that allows officers to function without fear, obstruction or intimidation.
On his part, Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission ICPC, Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, has called for closer oversight of the NIS’s internal processes.
He encouraged the Service to always extend invitations to the ICPC when promotion, recruitment and procurement exercises are being conducted in order to ensure the credibility of those processes.
Dr Aliyu noted that the newly inaugurated ACTU will serve as a strategic instrument to identify systemic weaknesses and urged the NIS management to provide necessary support by creating an enabling environment and granting the unit representation in standing committees, stressing that their role is not to compete with or replace management, but to strengthen efforts in promoting transparency.
The inauguration marks a transition for the NIS from a centralized reactive model to a decentralized framework, with Desk Officers deployed across every formation of the Service.
The Service described the desk officers as ethical champions and first responders who must act as the foundation of this transformation.
Their responsibilities are anchored on three core pillars: enlightenment through sustained ethical re-orientation; deterrence by serving as a confidential and accessible channel for reporting misconduct; and punishment by ensuring that proven cases of misconduct in areas like passport administration and border operations attract clear and proportionate sanctions.
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