The recent deployment of Migrant Information Analysis System (MIDAS) by the Nigeria Immigration Services (NIS) in the country is to strengthen the nation’s border control.
With this, passengers passing through the gateway airports are required to have their ten finger prints captured once and thereafter have just only one finger print captured.
The Comptroller of Immigration, Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Command, Abdullahi Usman who explained the working of the new digital bio-data capturing device to Aviation Correspondents in his office on Thursday, said it is similar to, but not a duplication of the finger print capture process done at passport offices.
Usman explained further that while the finger prints captures done at the passport office, when one wants to obtain an international passport, is for the record of the passport office, the MIDAS facility is for the NIS to identify holders of Nigerian passport who actually travel out of the country.
The immigration boss who appealed to Nigerians not to envisage any delay in their travel time, explained that the process has been perfected to ensure that no significant time of the passengers would be wasted.
“The Migrant Information Data Analysis system (MIDAS) recently deployed has been working perfectly in Lagos airport, it is a system the service introduced to strengthen our border control with the capture of travellers’ data.
“The process is very simple. Passengers are requested to have all their ten finger prints captured on the machine just once. It is similar in process to the one done in the passport office but not a duplication. What this one does is to identify and have the passengers’ data.
“It has been done in a very convenient way to avoid wasting any passengers’ time. No significant time is wasted. This may look as if it would cause delay for or waste passengers’ time, the process has been perfected to ensure passengers time are not wasted during the process,” he said.
Meanwhile, Usman said not less than 150 Nigerians engaging in illegal migration were denied departures by the service at the Lagos airport.
The immigration boss said the affected migrants who were motivated by greed and ignorance could not explained their purpose for travelling and what they would do when they arrive at their destinations.
“Recently we have stepped up our tracking on anti-human trafficking measures by denying boarding to hundred and fifty persons who ere refused departure because they fasiled to meet the requirements of border control posts . these passengers do not know the reasons for their intent to travel and where they were travelling to,” he said.
Usman who regretted that only the victims of human trafficking are arrested while their agents are nowhere to be found pleaded with Nigerians to help fish out the workers of iniquities.
Despite the high number of victims of human trafficking we have intercepted and denied departure at this airport, we are yet to arrest any of their agents. We therefore plea with Nigerians to assist us with reliable information on the agents,”
On the issue of human traffickers from neighbouring countries using Nigerian airports as their transit route, the immigration boss said the foreigners engaging in human trafficking have stopped using Nigerian airports because they realised that they would be denied departure here.
