Minister of Interior and former Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola

Minister of Interior Rauf Aregbesola

The Federal Ministry of Interior has given update on the fire incident that took place at the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) on Sunday, 10 January, 2021.

According to a statement by Muhammed Mangal, Director, Press and Public Relations of the Ministry on Monday, 11 January, 2021, there was no life lost in the incident while no person was injured as the fire was put out by the Nigeria Fire Service stationed at the premises of the headquarters assisted by the fire units of the neighbouring agencies before much damage could be done.

The statement added that the cause of the fire is being investigated.

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“It (the fire) affected the data management centre, especially the Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS) which enabled the agency to coordinate movement of persons at the borders and upload information on missing and stolen passports to INTERPOL database.

“However, no data was lost as a result of the incident and this will not affect the operation of the agency whatsoever since each border post is also independently connected to INTERPOL.

“This incident occurred at a time the data management centre is being transferred to a new ultramodern building. The migration will now be accelerated seamlessly.

“NIS has in place an effective protection and security system for its data and operations facilities and will continue to offer quality services to Nigerians and foreigners alike in all areas of its mandate,” the statement added.