INTERPOL Washington Continues Support to Nigeria under Project TERMINUS

INTERPOL Washington—the U.S. National Central Bureau (USNCB)—has successfully launched a new phase in its ongoing efforts to assist the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to improve its border security capabilities. On March 3, 2022, under Project TERMINUS, the USNCB completed the configuration and deployment of a National Dedicated Server Database (DSD) in Nigeria as requested by the NIS in December 2021.

The DSD provides the NIS with a serviceable national database of lost and stolen documents compatible with uploading into the INTERPOL Stolen and Lost Travel Document (SLTD) database. This launch marked the continuation of more than 12 months of collaboration between the USNCB, the U.S. Department of State, INTERPOL, and the Government of Nigeria.

The USNCB, operating under Project Terminus, began remotely providing technical assistance to its NIS counterparts in 2020. In 2021 the USNCB configured and deployed the first Nigerian Automated SLTD Uploader, which allows both the NIS and the National Central Bureau (NCB) in Abuja to connect directly to the INTERPOL database. 

Established in 2018, Project TERMINUS is a partnership between the USNCB and the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism. The mission of Project TERMINUS is to extend INTERPOL's I-24/7 secure, global police-to-police communications system in high risk areas and select host nations globally.

“The USNCB is pleased to continue our partnership with the U.S. Department of State to provide tools and technologies that assist our international law enforcement partners in improving their border security. Project TERMINUS contributes to the ability of all INTERPOL member countries to more effectively secure their borders against transnational threats,” said USNCB Director Michael A. Hughes.  

Project TERMINUS makes expert technical assistance available to countries seeking to integrate access to INTERPOL’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents Database (SLTD) into their national border security information sharing systems to help screen against the illicit international travel of transnational criminals and terrorists. Project TERMINUS is currently operating within the ASEAN and Africa regions. In addition to Nigeria, Partner Nations receiving assistance include Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.
 

A component of the U.S. Department of Justice, INTERPOL Washington, the U.S. National Central Bureau (USNCB), is the designated United States representative to INTERPOL on behalf of the Attorney General. It serves as the national point of contact and coordination for all INTERPOL matters, coordinating international investigative efforts among member countries and the more than 18,000 local, state, federal, and tribal law enforcement agencies.