The Federal Government has said it now has the capacity to identify and apprehend foreigners who overstay their visas in the country.

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja during the 2026 Sectoral Performance Review Retreat of the Federal Ministry of Interior.

Tunji-Ojo said the government now possesses comprehensive data that enables authorities to track individuals who have entered the country over the past decade and determine those who have failed to comply with their visa conditions.

According to him, the development followed the establishment of an Integrated Operations Centre and a Network Operations Centre by the Nigeria Immigration Service.

The minister, however, said the FG will go after foreigners who have overstayed their visas, adding that outside of the country, Nigerians are not being spared.

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 stressed the need for reforms across agencies under the ministry, including the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, to ensure services are delivered transparently and without corruption.

Tunji-Ojo said the goal of government institutions should be to protect citizens, particularly the most vulnerable in society.

“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.

Speaking on correctional reforms, he argued that a system where individuals repeatedly return to custody reflects a failure of rehabilitation.

“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, emphasised the importance of accountability in leadership.

She said leadership was about “devotion, promises, performance, and impact,” noting that the ministry’s agencies play critical roles that affect the daily lives of Nigerians and therefore require transparency and effective service delivery.

The move to go after foreigners who overstay their visas comes amid renewed efforts by the Federal Government to strengthen border management and enforce immigration regulations across the country.

This definitely would allow immigration authorities to track the movement of travellers and identify individuals who remain in Nigeria beyond the duration permitted by their visas.

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The Kano State House of Assembly on Thursday commenced impeachment proceedings against the Deputy Governor, Aminu Abdulsalam, over alleged misconduct, abuse of office, and breach of public trust.

This development was contained in a report by Leadership Newspaper.

The impeachment notice was presented on the floor of the House by the Majority Leader, Lawan Dala, and read by Speaker Ismail Falgore during plenary.

According to the lawmakers, the action is grounded in Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution, which allows a state legislature to initiate impeachment proceedings against a deputy governor accused of gross misconduct.

A total of 38 lawmakers signed the impeachment notice, and Speaker Falgore has directed that Abdulsalam be formally served, in line with constitutional procedures.

The move comes amid simmering political tensions in Kano following Governor Abba Yusuf’s defection from the New Nigeria Peoples Party to the All Progressives Congress last year.

Deputy Governor Abdulsalam had opted not to follow the governor in the defection, choosing to remain with the NNPP.

His refusal reportedly deepened rifts within the state government, raising speculation about his political future and setting the stage for the current impeachment proceedings.

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The Federal High Court on Thursday discharged and acquitted suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, of a 23-count charge bordering on alleged non-declaration of assets filed against him by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.

Justice James Omotosho, who delivered the judgment, held that the anti-narcotics agency failed to provide sufficient evidence to establish the allegations against Kyari and his two brothers, who were also arraigned in the charge for allegedly swearing to false affidavits to conceal the origin of certain properties.

The judge held that the prosecution did not present credible materials linking Kyari to the landed properties said to be located at Fountain Estate, Kasana, which were alleged to belong to Ramatu Kyari.

According to the court, the prosecution equally failed to provide evidence connecting the suspended police officer to other properties said to be located on Linda Choko Road in Asokoro, Abuja, as well as in Maiduguri, Borno State.

Justice Omotosho noted that ownership of landed property could be established through traditional history, title documents, acts of possession or possession by connection, adding that none of these was presented by the prosecution to prove that the properties allegedly linked to Kyari were indeed owned by him.

The court further held that Kyari, in his defence, maintained that the Maiduguri properties belonged to his late father and were inherited by him and his siblings, a claim the prosecution failed to disprove during the trial.

The judge also faulted the conspiracy charge filed against Kyari’s brothers, holding that the prosecution failed to establish the allegation and appeared to have charged them in bad faith.

Justice Omotosho consequently held that the case presented by the NDLEA lacked merit and discharged and acquitted Kyari and the other defendants on all 23 counts.

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