Federal Ministry of Interior (Nigeria)

The Federal Ministry of the Interior is a Ministry of the Federal Government of Nigeria tasked with providing complementary internal security and other ancillary services within Nigeria. The Ministry is headed by the Minister of Interior, a cabinet-level head who reports directly to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The current minister of interior is Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.

Ministry of Interior

Agency overview
Formed	1957; 68 years ago (1957)
Type	Executive Department
Jurisdiction	Federal Government of Nigeria
Headquarters	Abuja
Minister responsible	Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo
Parent department	Government of Nigeria
Child agencies	Nigerian Correctional Service Nigeria Immigration Service Federal Fire Service Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps
Key document	Section 217-220 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria
Website	interior.gov.ng

History

The concern to maintain internal security gave rise to the creation of the federal ministry of internal affairs in 1957.^[1] In 2007, the Ministry of Internal Affairs merged with the Ministry of Police Affairs, resulting in the Ministry of the Interior.

Agencies

The Ministry exercises supervisory control over the following Security Agencies, namely:

• Nigerian Correctional Service
• Nigeria Immigration Service
• Federal Fire Service
• Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps
• The Civil Defence, Immigration, Prisons, Fire Service Board (CDFIPB)

Functions

The Ministry formulates and implements policies related to border management and supervises the National Immigration Service.^[2] Its other functions include:

• Granting of Nigerian citizenship
• Consular and immigration services
• Granting of business permits and expatriate quotas
• Co-ordination of national and independence day celebrations
• Reformation and re-integration of inmates
• Security of lives and properties
• Management of National emergencies;
• Recruitment of officers and men of the Correctional Service, Immigration Service, Fire Service and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps
• Managing the retirement benefits of retirees of paramilitary Services under its supervision.

List of ministers

Name	Term	Note
Joseph Modupe Johnson	1957–1959
Usman Sarki	1959–1962
Shehu Shagari	1962–1965
Shettima Ali Monguno	1965–1966	Federal Minister of Internal Affairs
Kam Selem	1967–1975	Federal Commissioner for Internal Affairs
Adamu Suleiman	1975	Federal Commissioner for Internal Affairs[3]
Umaru Shinkafi	1975–1979	Federal Commissioner for Internal Affairs[4]
Bello Maitama Yusuf*	1979–1983
Bagudu Mamman*	1990–1991
Tunji Olagunju*	1992–1993
Bashir Dalhatu	1997–1998
Sunday Afolabi	1999–2000
Mohammed Shata	2000–2003
Iyorchia Ayu	2003–2005
Magaji Muhammed	2005–2006
Oluyemi Adeniji	2006–2007
Godwin Abbe	2007–2009
Shettima Mustapha	2009–2010
Emmanuel Iheanacho	2010–2011
Patrick Abba Moro	2011–2015
Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau	2015–2019
Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola	2019–2023
Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo	2023–present

*Minister of Internal Affairs