The Interior Ministry has in the last two years, mobilized paramilitary agencies in the direction of internal security reorganization and affirmation, EMMANUEL ONANI reports
The Ministry of Interior under the leadership of Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has left no one in doubt about his “desperation” to move the institution away from interagency rivalry, to interagency collaboration, while insisting on the compelling need for agencies to deliver on the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Since his assumption of office in mid-2023, Tunji-Ojo has not left anyone in doubt about his capacity to deploy his legislative and administrative competence to drive reforms in the ministry as well as agencies under his supervision – Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Federal Fire Service, and Nigeria Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
Centralised admin system
The Centralised Interior Management and Administration System also known and referred to as CIMAS, is a largely enterprise grade platform hosted on the newly commissioned data centre (BATTIC). It is a veritable initiative that serves as the central hub for all software solutions deployed across the different agencies under the ministry.
Among other things, the platform creates room for the unification of data collection, processing and eventually reporting, ensuring seamless integration, and communication among all agencies’ systems. It further links/connects every relevant institution’s software to the centralised framework. In the main, the ministry gains through improved oversight, streamlined administration and effective/efficient decision-making imperatives.
It is crystal clear that the ministry under the leadership of Tunji-Ojo, has embraced digital transformation, strengthened national security, and delivered structural changes that to all intent and purpose – are reshaping internal administration across the country.
Instructively, what is outstanding in all of these, is not simply the number of reforms, but the pace, courage, and impact, which in themselves, underpin a bold paradigm shift toward a more technology-driven, citizen-focused model of internal security governance, and democratic accountability.
How minister’s digital innovation has fared in agencies
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), no doubt, bears what appears the most visible transformation of the minister’s visionary leadership at the Interior Ministry. Before May 2023, the NIS has the notoriety of accumulated backlog of passports nearing 300,000. The story, however, changed in early 2024, the Service cleared a backlog of over 200,000 passport applications within weeks—a feat that signaled the beginning of wider digital reforms championed by the former parliamentarian.
As a consequence, the passport processing system is now fully automated, thereby necessitating the near disappearance of queues. There is also the contactless biometric system, which enables applicants to apply for passports, get enrolled from the comfort of their homes.
Enter the E-Gate wonder
Through the minister’s forward-thinking policies, the NIS has installed e-gates at major international airports across the country, with the objective to cover all in no distant time.
The installations are said to have been completed in the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) as well as Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos. Enugu, Port Harcourt and Kano are being waited. Also to the credit of the ministry is the deployment of an Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS), with the capacity for real-time assessment of passengers before arrival.
Fortified border regime
On border security, there are confirmed reports that the ministry has expanded Nigeria’s e-border surveillance system, with command centers and upgraded monitoring equipment deployed across vulnerable locations and other general areas. The development has paved the way for easy tracking of smuggling of migrants, trafficking in persons, irregular migrants, as well as other cross-border crimes. As at the last count, the Federal Government had repatriated/deported more than 800 illegal migrants in 2024. The move is a reaffirmation of Nigeria’s commitment to national security ideals. These efforts reflect a broader policy on border management.
NSCDC and internal security architecture
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has taken on an expanded role over the last two years, particularly in the protection of critical national assets such as pipelines, rail infrastructure, and power and telecommunication infrastructure.
Buoyed by the Renewed Hope Agenda, the NSCDC also intensified operations against pipeline vandals, illegal miners, and oil thieves, significantly reducing sabotage incidents in several hotspot zones.
Its involvement in the Safe Schools Initiative has also deepened, with improved rapidresponse capacity to protect educational institutions from banditry and abductions. A series of training programmes and welfare reforms, including clearance of promotion backlogs, were further initiated, thereby boosting the morale and operational readiness among officers, and personnel.
Reformation at NCoS
The Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) has continued to witness appreciable reforms, with a steady drive towards attaining the global best practices mark. Specifically, the ministry has undertaken largescale decongestion of correctional facilities, side-by-side with the operationalisation of the noncustodial sentence.
In some of the holding centres, security infrastructure has been fortified, with the introduction of surveillance systems and upgraded perimeter fences, to forestall any further security breaches. Needless to say that the NCoS has expanded vocational and psychological rehabilitation programmes to prepare inmates for productive reintegration into society.
Fire Service and equipment upgrade
It is a no-brainer that the Federal Fire Service had struggled with outdated equipment and slow response to fire and other emergency disasters. The story has since changed with the coming on board of the minister, who has invested massively in modern fire-fighting equipment – modern trucks, upgraded firefighting gear, and increased number of functional fire stations across the sub-nationals and local governments.
There is also the growing public fire prevention campaign, while firefighters now undergo continuous training in modern rescue techniques. The results are evident: faster emergency response and a steadily growing public confidence in the FFS. Above all, the ongoing reforms within the ministry have not only enhanced service delivery, but also propelled government finances.
For instance, in 2024, the ministry generated an estimated N6 billion in revenue from expatriate quotas, citizenship applications, business permits, and other services. This feat reflects improved transparency, enhanced digital systems, and stronger compliance tracking. As a result, critical agencies under the ministry now submit themselves to a performance management framework, ensuring, as it were, accountability, speed and measurable progress across the operational milieu.
Conclusion
There are mounting expectations that the Ministry of Interior will push through with the reforms, while reasserting the fundamental place of paramilitary organisations within the internal security framework of government.
