Main area: Migration
Theme: Addressing irregular migration – border management
Assessment: Non ODA-eligible
Provider country: Switzerland
Recipient country: Nigeria
Implementing agency: IOM
Budget (CHF million): 0.4
Year(s): 2020-2021
Purpose code: 15190
Case number: Migration / 4
Enhancing sea border data systems in south of Nigeria
The objective of the Swiss involvement in this programme was to contribute to better border and migration management by expanding to the whole Nigerian territory the “Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS)”, set up by IOM since 2015 with different donors including Switzerland,. This was the third consecutive project of this kind. MIDAS aims to reinforce Nigerian authorities' capacity to manage border crossings and migration and prevent cross-border crimes like drug, weapon or migrant smuggling. The project is part of the Migration Partnership with Nigeria signed 10 years ago in response to the expectations of the project's main partner: the Nigeria Immigration Services (NIS).
The IOM project "Enhancing Sea Border Data Systems in South Nigeria" allowed the installation of MIDAS at two seaports in the south of the country at the border with Cameroon in order to link them to the national network. This project took place within the context of the Ambazonia War, also known as the Anglophone Crisis, in Cameroon and sought explicitly to assist officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service with managing the influx of displaced populations stemming from this conflict.
The project is financed and monitored by the State Secretariat for Migration and not from the Swiss international co-operation budget lines.
The project envisioned an extension and repair of MIDAS to two seaports in the South of Nigeria which were indicated by the Nigerian Immigration Service as strategically significant due to their accessibility from Cameroon by sea and their constituting a principle point of entry for displaced populations from Cameroon. The specific activities were a) Implementation of the MIDAS system in two seaports in Akwa Ibom State including the installation of solar power systems; (b) Installation of synchronization infrastructure at the State Command level in order to connect the border posts to and exchange information with the central office; (c) Training of NIS officials in the use of the MIDAS system and movement control in accordance with international standards; and (d) Establishment of a cross-border co-operation mechanism with Cameroon.
The project took into account the new challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic in its implementation, for example by including hygiene rules and the reduction of physical contact during border controls.
The installation of MIDAS and two solar power systems was successful at two Sea Ports in Akwa Ibom State. The data synchronisation infrastructure has been installed at Akwa Ibom State Command and the systems have been successfully connected with the national database. 14 officials were trained in the use of MIDAS and 7 officials were trained in the maintenance of the IT as well as the solar power system. Two cross-border meetings were held with Nigerian and Cameroon border officials at which ideas of cooperation were shared and later implemented.
This activity is deemed non ODA-eligible. It supports the control of migration flows and migration management policies, involving co-operation in border management for the mutual benefit of provider and recipient country. Despite mutual benefits not being enough to preclude ODA eligibility according to Principle 3, the activity does not pursue a primary developmental objective and is thus excluded from ODA (see Principle 1 and Criterion 4). To note: the ODA coefficient for multilateral organisations (100% for IOM) has no bearing on the assessment of earmarked contributions through this organisation (which should be assessed on a case-by-case basis).
This work was approved and declassified by the Development Assistance Committee’s Working Party on Development Finance Statistics.
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