The Federal Government is working to balance the ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement with national security imperatives by enhancing the profiling, documentation, and monitoring of individuals entering and exiting the country.
The Director-General of the National Boundary Commission (NBC), Adamu Adaji, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday.
Mr. Adaji stated that while the ECOWAS Protocol guarantees the free movement of goods and persons, it does not prevent border control agencies from properly identifying travellers to safeguard territorial integrity.
“People who enter and leave should be properly profiled and documented, even though they have the right to free movement,” Adaji said, emphasizing that authorities must know the identities and intentions of individuals crossing the borders.
He urged security agencies along border corridors to step up vigilance to prevent criminal elements from exploiting legitimate travel protocols. He identified terrorism, kidnapping, and arms smuggling as major security threats associated with porous border areas.
Identifying illegal border routes as a persistent challenge, the NBC chief called for sustained efforts to monitor, minimize, and eventually eliminate unauthorized crossings through modern surveillance technology—such as cameras and monitoring systems—alongside stronger inter-agency collaboration.
Mr. Adaji highlighted Nigeria’s initiation of the Cross-Border Cooperation Platform, a mechanism designed to enhance intelligence sharing and bilateral cooperation with neighbouring nations to secure shared borders.
He also stressed the vital role of border communities in national security, advocating for improved infrastructure in these areas to build trust and encourage residents to report suspicious activities to security forces.
Effective border management, according to the director-general, must simultaneously facilitate lawful trade and migration while maintaining robust security measures through clearly demarcated boundaries and coordinated regional action.
