LASU, NIS to co-host ABORNE 2026 conference
By Sodiq Adelakun
Lagos State University (LASU) and the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) will jointly host the 2026 edition of the African Borderlands Research Network (ABORNE) Conference, marking the first time the event will be held in Nigeria.
This was announced by the Vice-Chancellor of LASU, Professor Ibiyemi Ibilola Olatunji-Bello, during a visit to the Comptroller General of NIS, Kemi Nanna Nadap, at the service’s headquarters in Abuja to initiate preparations for the landmark event.
Accompanied by key officials including Dr. Willie Eselebor, founder of the Universal Research and Training Institute (URTI), Professor Tunji Azeez, Acting Dean of the School of Tourism, Film, Performing Arts and Cultural Studies, Professor Adewunmi Falode, and Mrs. Fatima Ogunniyi, Personal Assistant to the Vice-Chancellor, Olatunji-Bello expressed her commitment to making the conference one of the best in ABORNE’s history.
She also said the establishment of the Border and Migration Studies programme at LASU, which will offer bachelor’s, postgraduate, professional certificate, and diploma courses in the field.
Dr. Eselebor, who also serves as the university’s consultant for the Border and Migration Studies programme, emphasised Lagos’ strategic importance as the only state in Nigeria with land, air, and sea borders.
He noted that the location of LASU along the Lagos-Abidjan corridor made it ideal for the programme and the ABORNE conference. Eselebor further revealed that the ABORNE leadership, led by Professor Paul Nugent of the University of Edinburgh, granted LASU and NIS the hosting rights due to these strategic factors.
The theme of the 2026 conference will be “The Connected Borderlands, Socio-Cultural Integration, and the Centrality of Policy, Research, and Security,” and it is expected to attract over 250 scholars, practitioners, and development organizations.
In response, the Director-General of NIS, Kemi Nanna Nadap, expressed her excitement over the conference being hosted in Nigeria, assuring full support from the service for its success.
She stressed the importance of collaboration among relevant stakeholders to address border and immigration challenges, not only in Nigeria but across Africa and the world.
Nadap also promised to formalize a Memorandum of Understanding with LASU on training and development.
The visiting team also met with Surveyor Adamu Adaji, Director-General of the National Boundary Commission, and Dr. Dax Alabo George-Kelly, Executive Secretary of the Border Communities Development Agency, both of whom pledged their support for the upcoming conference.
