Nigeria Immigration Service, IOM Establish HQ National Intelligence Unit

22 Jun 2012 07:44 Africa/Lagos

Nigeria Immigration Service, IOM Establish HQ National Intelligence Unit

GENEVA, June 22, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- IOM and the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) are training 21 immigration officials to establish a National Intelligence Unit at the NIS HQ in the capital Abuja.


The two-week programme, which ends today, is part of a USD 12.7 million European Union-funded IOM project: "Promoting Better Management of Migration in Nigeria."


It addressed a range of intelligence issues facing the NIS, including interview techniques, briefing and debriefing, investigation and case management, as well as the development of a National Intelligence Model for Nigeria.


"The Nigeria Immigration Service sees the development of a National Intelligence Unit as crucial in achieving its identified targets. The training for the Unit provided by IOM is a substantial step in its development," said the Head of the Unit, Mr. Ubi Ikpi Nkanu.


In the coming months, IOM will also equip the Unit with computers, software and relevant training to allow the Unit to process raw information and develop intelligence packages for dissemination to appropriate Nigerian law enforcement agencies.


Nigeria became an IOM member state in 2002 and experiences widespread irregular migration. It is also a source, transit and destination country for women and children subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking, according to the US State Department's 2011 Trafficking in Persons (TiP) Report.


The NIS and IOM anticipate that that the National Intelligence Unit will introduce a more coherent approach to information and intelligence gathering needed to combat trafficking in Nigeria.


As the NIS is also responsible for issuing passports, relevant information processed and intelligence generated by the Unit is also expected to help to ensure that the integrity of the passport issuance process is not compromised.


Source: International Office of Migration (IOM)

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