The House of Representatives on Thursday urged the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to beef up the nation’s border security with modern technological gadgets.
This followed the adoption of a motion titled, “Need to Employ the Use of Modern Technology to Secure the Nation’s Borders” sponsored by Hon. Oby Lilian Orogbu at the plenary session presided over by the Speaker, Rt Hon Tajudeen Abbas
The House also mandated the Committees on National Security and Intelligence and Customs and Excise to interface with the relevant agencies of the executive arm to ensure implementation and report back within four weeks for further legislative action.
It also mandated the Committee on Legislative Compliance to ensure compliance.
While moving the motion, the lawmaker said that he noticed that there were over 320 illegal routes into Nigeria that served as horrendous channels for the influx of inadmissible aliens and goods.
He also noted that Nigeria at the moment lacked sufficient security personnel to safeguard the existing illegal routes across the borders.
He further noted that the unmanned routes provided avenues for insecurity, proliferation of arms, and dumping of unwholesome goods into the country.
According to him, “The House is concerned that the porous borders have provided an impetus to the thriving drug and human trafficking routes all over the country.
He said that the House was aware that border policing had since shifted from the mundane use of only human beings to the deployment of sophisticated electronic-based equipment for potency.
He added that the House was aware that the deployment of technologies like electronic sensors, video monitors, and night vision scopes to detect illegal entries had proved more effective in Western countries than human security.
When the motion was put into voice vote, It was unanimously supported by members.
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