The federal government has announced plans to track and arrest foreign nationals who remain in Nigeria after their visas expire, saying new technological systems now allow authorities to identify and track such individuals.

Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, revealed this on Thursday in Abuja while speaking at the 2026 sectoral performance review retreat of the federal ministry of interior.

According to the minister, the government now has access to extensive immigration records covering the last 10 years, making it possible to determine who entered the country, their origin, and whether they complied with the conditions of their visas.

He explained that the capability was made possible through the creation of an integrated operations centre and a network operations centre by the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, which has improved the monitoring of travellers entering the country.

Tunji-Ojo noted that the data available through the new system would enable authorities to identify foreigners who have overstayed their visas and take appropriate action.

He said, “In NIS, I know we are doing a lot already. As of today, we have been able to build our Integrated Operations Centre and the Network Operations Centre, which we never had before.

“With that, we can access, in the last 10 years, everybody who has entered, where you came from, everything, we have all your records, we have everything, we know the exact people who have overstayed in our country, and we will go after them, with due respect, because, outside of Nigeria, they go after the irregular immigrants and we think we have to protect the sanctity of our borders,” the minister stated.”

The minister also called for sweeping reforms across agencies under the ministry, including the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, stressing the need for transparent and corruption-free service delivery.

He said government institutions must focus on protecting citizens, particularly those who are vulnerable, and ensure that access to protection is not influenced by status or connections.

“NSCDC provides protection in an organised and corruption-free manner, where the son of a nobody will have the same opportunity as the son of anybody in government.

“If you are a businessman or there is a genuine threat to your life, you should be able to access protection without going through the minister, the Commandant General, or anyone else. It is only then that we can truly say we have a service that works for Nigerians.

“Nigeria should not be about selective service delivery. The essence of government is to protect everyone, with greater emphasis on protecting the weakest in society, ” he said.

Addressing correctional reforms, Tunji-Ojo maintained that the purpose of custodial facilities should be rehabilitation and transformation, noting that repeated returns to custody indicate shortcomings in the system.

“Anybody who goes in there must be reformed and transformed,” he said, adding that the objective was to reduce cases of repeat offences to the barest minimum.

In her remarks, the permanent secretary of the ministry, Magdalene Ajani, highlighted the importance of accountability in public leadership.

She said leadership requires devotion, promises, performance, and impact, stressing that agencies under the ministry must operate with transparency because of the critical roles they play in the lives of Nigerians.

The government’s renewed focus on visa compliance forms part of broader efforts to strengthen border management and enforce immigration laws across the country.