Systems and standards

E-gates in Africa

Last checked 24 October 2026 · 6 sources

Short answer

E-gates are automated immigration gates that read a travel document and check the traveller's face, fingerprint or iris. Records read for this page show e-gates in Nigeria, where the Interior Minister said in June 2024 that eight gates in Abuja were complete and 21 were planned for Lagos ¹, in South Africa, where eGates are owned by the state-owned Airports Company South Africa, as reported ³, and in Sierra Leone, where the immigration department said Securiport provided electronic gate booths at Lungi ⁴.

Nigeria, Abuja: 8 e-gates complete, per the Interior Minister on 23 June 2024 ¹
Nigeria, Lagos: 21 gates, in user acceptance testing at the time of an inspection ²
Nigeria, Kano, Enugu and Port Harcourt: 4 gates each planned ^1,2
South Africa eGate owner: Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), as reported ³
Sierra Leone equipment provider: Securiport, per the Sierra Leone Immigration Department ⁴

What an e-gate does

Nigeria's Interior Minister said e-gates are meant to reduce human contact with immigration officers and speed up passenger processing ¹. In Nigeria the Interior Minister said the gates use iris, fingerprint or facial scanning and connect to databases worldwide, as reported by Arise News ².

For ePassports, the gate depends on checking the chip. ICAO says the receiving State's border control needs certificate information from the issuing State to validate a chip, and the ICAO PKD acts as a broker for it ⁵. The chip holds the page 2 data and a digital signature ⁶.

Nigeria

On 23 June 2024 Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo said the e-gate installation at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja was 100% complete, with eight gates. He said the gates were meant to let Nigerian passport holders clear immigration in under 30 seconds, and that the President would commission them, as reported by Nairametrics ¹.

At an inspection in Lagos, the minister said the 21 gates at the new Murtala Muhammed international terminal were in user acceptance testing and that Lagos would be 100 per cent ready within three weeks, as reported by Chinedu Eze for Arise News. The article carries no date ².

The minister said a federal data centre was built so that the Nigeria Immigration Service holds its own biometric data rather than relying on a private company ². Neither article names the e-gate supplier or the cost ^1,2.

Airport	Gates	Status in the record
Nnamdi Azikiwe, Abuja ¹	8 ¹	Installation complete, commissioning pending, 23 June 2024 ¹
Murtala Muhammed, Lagos ¹	21 ¹	User acceptance testing, undated report ²
Kano ¹	4 ¹	Planned next phase ²
Enugu ¹	4 ¹	Planned next phase ²
Port Harcourt ¹	4 ¹	Planned next phase ²

South Africa

Engineering News reported on 13 August 2026 that the eGates are owned by the state-owned Airports Company South Africa and that the new Electronic Travel Authorisation and EMCS 2.0 still had to be linked to them ³.

The same report quoted Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber saying the face of the traveller becomes the key that determines whether they may enter. The Border Management Authority and the South African Revenue Service upgraded the airport movement control system, eMCS 2.0 ³.

Sierra Leone

The Sierra Leone Immigration Department said on 20 June 2026 that its Audit Committee inspected equipment at Freetown International Airport, Lungi. It listed enrolling cameras, scanners, monitors and electronic gate booths and said the equipment was provided by Securiport ⁴.

This is a statement by the immigration department. The page does not give a contract value, a start date or the terms of the arrangement ⁴.

What the records do not show

The Nigerian reports read for this page do not name a supplier, a cost or a commissioning date ^1,2.
The South African report does not name an eGate manufacturer ³.
This site has not found an official count of e-gates across Africa. The list here covers only the records cited ^1,3 ⁴.

Common questions

Does Lagos airport have e-gates?

Arise News reported 21 gates in user acceptance testing at the new Lagos international terminal, and the minister said Lagos would be ready within three weeks ².

Who can use Nigeria's e-gates?

The Interior Minister said in June 2024 the gates were meant to speed entry for Nigerian passport holders ¹.

Who owns the eGates at South African airports?

Engineering News reported in August 2026 that they are owned by the Airports Company South Africa ³.

Who supplied the electronic gates at Lungi airport?

The Sierra Leone Immigration Department said the equipment was provided by Securiport ⁴.

Rules and charges change. Check the official source linked on this page before you pay or travel. Spotted an error? Email hello@africabordertechnology.com.

Sources

What is border management technology?
Plain definitions of the systems African states use at borders: ePassports and the ICAO PKD, MIDAS, API and PNR, e-visas, ETAs and e-gates.
ICAO PKD and ePassports in Africa
The 22 African states listed as ICAO PKD participants, their joining dates, and how the PKD lets border officers check an ePassport chip.
Nigeria border technology
Nigeria's ICAO PKD membership, IOM MIDAS, e-gates, the e-visa and landing card, and NIS border system training, from public records.
South Africa border technology
South Africa's Electronic Travel Authorisation, EMCS 2.0 facial verification, airport eGates, the ABIS contract and the audit findings on it.
How to read a border technology contract
A guide to the records behind border technology deals in Africa: who procured, who was awarded, scope, value, cessions, extensions, penalties and audits.
Ghana border technology
What public records show about Ghana's e-gates at Kotoka International Airport, the Ghana Card at the border and the Thales e-Immigration work.