The Federal Government has called for stronger collaboration among universities, security agencies, regional institutions and development partners to strengthen border security, improve migration management and promote regional integration.
The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the call at the opening of the 2026 African Borderlands Research Network (ABORNE) conference, co-hosted by Lagos State University (LASU) and the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in Ikeja.
The conference was themed: “Connected Borderlands, Socio-Cultural Integration, and the Centrality of Policy, Research, and Security.”
Represented by his Senior Special Assistant on Policy, Dr Kareem Olajoku, Tunji-Ojo said Nigeria must adopt evidence-based approaches to border management while ensuring that research addresses practical security challenges.
He said ongoing improvements in biometric identity systems, passport administration, automated border control and technology-enabled security were part of efforts to modernise Nigeria’s border management system.
The Minister also stressed the importance of involving border communities in security and development, describing them as partners in early warning, conflict prevention and effective border management.
“Building a resilient borderline therefore requires us to see border communities not merely as populations to be secured but as partners in security, peace and development,” he said.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by the Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Tolani Sule, said borderlands were critical to national security, economic prosperity and regional integration.
He described border communities as “bridges of trade, culture and diplomacy” and called for data-driven research, inter-agency collaboration and inclusive policies to address insecurity, smuggling and irregular migration.
“Policy without research is guesswork. Security without community engagement is unsustainable,” the Governor said.
He reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to supporting research that would improve migration management, regional trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and socio-cultural integration.
The Vice Chancellor of LASU, Professor Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, called for closer collaboration among researchers, policymakers and security agencies to address the complex challenges of migration and border governance.
She said borders should no longer be viewed simply as lines separating territories, but as spaces where people, cultures, languages, markets and histories interact.
“Research needs practice. Practice needs research and both need policy. That is the triangle within which meaningful border governance must operate,” she said.
Olatunji-Bello disclosed that LASU had established a Bachelor of Arts programme in Border and Migration Studies to produce professionals capable of addressing issues of human mobility, identity, security and development.
The Comptroller General of the NIS, Kemi Nanna Nandap, also advocated stronger collaboration, technology and community participation to improve border security and facilitate lawful movement across Africa.
Nandap identified human trafficking, migrant smuggling, identity fraud, organised crime, terrorism and cyber-enabled threats as emerging challenges requiring greater cooperation among countries and institutions.
She said the NIS was combining technology, intelligence and inter-agency cooperation to strengthen border management, while stressing that technology must complement rather than replace the human element.
According to her, Nigeria’s border of the future would be “more digital, more biometric and intelligence-led,” while remaining human-centred.
She called for stronger partnerships in border technology, biometric identity management, cybersecurity, surveillance, intelligence sharing, capacity building and research.
The Chairman of ABORNE, Professor Paul Nugent, urged African governments to rethink border management and treat borderlands as “zones of integration and innovation” rather than areas of division and insecurity.
Nugent said Africa’s extensive land borders were home to communities whose lives were shaped by trade, kinship and shared cultures that often predated colonial boundaries.
He urged governments to develop policies that secure borders without criminalising legitimate cross-border livelihoods.
The ABORNE Chairman commended LASU and the NIS for co-hosting the conference, describing the partnership as a model of collaboration between academia and security institutions.
He said ABORNE would work to ensure that papers and resolutions from the conference were translated into policy recommendations for the African Union, ECOWAS and national governments.
The three-day conference brought together academics, policymakers, security experts, diplomats and development partners from more than 15 African countries to deliberate on migration, trade, security and border governance.
