The Federal Government says it now has the capacity to track visa overstayers in Nigeria through a new technology-driven monitoring system.

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this on the first day of the Ministry of Interior’s 2026 Sectoral Retreat held in Abuja.

According to him, the system—known as the Integrated Operation Centre, enables authorities to monitor the movement of travellers entering the country and identify individuals who remain beyond the validity of their visas.

Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo said the Ministry of Interior, working through the Nigeria Immigration Service, now has the technological capability to track all travellers entering the country and identify those who overstay their visas.

“We can now know the exact number of people that have overstayed in our country and make the number available,” he said.

He stated that the system gives the government enhanced control over Nigeria’s borders by recording travellers in real time and monitoring adherence to visa rules.

“We are also going after them and with the NIS we have today, I am proud to say our border is standing on the firm foundation of technology,” the ministers noted.

The minister said the IOC is an artificial intelligence-based, multilayered system that merges cybersecurity with network operations to enhance migration and border management.

It is designed to strengthen Nigeria’s migration controls by unifying traveller data and improving the administration of expatriates.

Tunji-Ojo noted that the ministry has started consolidating immigration data and providing personnel with digital tools to enhance border monitoring and national security.

He also emphasized the role of national identity data in strengthening the new system, adding that further efforts are required until the National Identity Management Commission successfully captures the biometric and demographic information of all Nigerians.

“Not until every Nigerian is captured, we cannot say we have succeeded as there is a lot to be done,” he said.

Nigeria has been rolling out a series of reforms in its migration and border management system to strengthen security and better monitor the movement of foreign nationals.

Last year, the Nigeria Immigration Service introduced new penalties as part of wider immigration reforms to improve compliance and border oversight.

These measures include a daily fine of $15 for each day a foreign national overstays their visa, along with additional sanctions based on the length of the overstay.