Abstract
This study examines the role of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in addressing contemporary security challenges in Nigeria, with particular attention to border governance, irregular migration, transnational crime, and the protection of national security. The study adopts a qualitative research design, drawing on participant observation and secondary sources, including relevant scholarly literature, official documents, policy reports, and other documentary materials. Data were critically examined through qualitative analysis to identify recurring patterns, institutional challenges, and the implications of border-related activities for national security. The study finds that porous and poorly controlled borders, irregular migration, transnational criminal networks, and complex interstate dynamics constitute significant drivers of Nigeria’s contemporary security challenges. It further establishes that the NIS operates within an increasingly complex security environment in which border-management responsibilities intersect with broader threats such as human trafficking, smuggling, terrorism, and other forms of transnational crime. The study also finds that the diversion of limited institutional resources towards responding to transnational criminal activities can constrain the Service’s capacity to effectively perform its core immigration and border-management functions. Consequently, institutional weaknesses, inadequate resources, limited technological capacity, and the need for stronger inter-agency coordination remain critical challenges to effective border governance. The study argues that strengthening the NIS through sustained institutional reforms, improved funding, enhanced professional and operational capacity, deployment of modern border-surveillance technologies, intelligence-led border management, and robust inter-agency collaboration is essential to securing Nigeria’s territorial boundaries. It concludes that effective and secure border governance is not only vital to national security but also constitutes an important foundation for sustainable peace, orderly migration, and socioeconomic development.
DOI: https://www.doi.10.57233/djfafais.2026.v22i01.012
author/Gonet, N. D., and Chinaka, U. P. N.
journal/Degel 22(1) | October 2026 |
