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Tag: Muhammad Babandede

  • Fake marriages taking place in Nigeria – NIS

    The Nigeria Immigration Service ( NIS ) has said that a lot of fake marriages are taking place between Nigerians and foreigners in the country.

    Mr Muhammad Babandede, Comptroller General of the agency stated this on Wednesday in Abuja, saying that male foreigners were mostly involved in the act.

    He spoke at an operational review meeting with Zonal Coordinators and State Comptrollers of the agency at its national headquarters.

    Babandede said their aim was to cheat the conditions for the issuance of residence and work permits to foreigners by the agency.

    “We have observed that foreigners, especially men, are trying to beat the system of issuance of residence permits.

    “A lot of fake or ‘arrangee’ marriages are going on, and that would give them permission to stay in this country without much liabilities.

    “The advantage is that when you are the spouse of a Nigerian, you have no limitation on the job you will do; you don’t have to pay residence permit fees; it is easier for you to stay.

    “So, we are beginning to face difficulties because many people are becoming married on temporary ground,” Babandede said.

    The NIS boss said the agency had arrested some culprits, and would tighten the conditions for the issuance of permits to check the abuse.

    He said that as part of the measures to check the abuse, the agency would henceforth monitor marriages between Nigerians and foreigners in the country.

    “We will not allow any person to come for holiday marriage, because we have also observed that people just come on holidays, arrange marriages in Nigeria and go back.

    “We will not allow that anymore; you have to stay for a period of six months after marriage before you get our residence permit.

    “You have to also enter with permission to stay in Nigeria, so you must come with the residency visa; you can’t come as a tourist and get married,’’ he said.

    Babandede further said that the agency was also planning to restrict foreign spouses to jobs for which Nigerians lacked the requisite skills and qualifications.

    He stated that the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Interior and the NIS, was looking into the issue, which he described as a national security threat.

    NAN

  • NIS generates N38.5bn, $29.9m in 2017, says C-G

    The Nigeria Immigration Service ( NIS ) generated a total revenue of N38.532 billion and 29.9 million dollars in 2017.

    The Comptroller-General of NIS, Mr Muhammad Babandede, made this known at an operational review meeting with zonal coordinators and state controllers of the agency in Abuja on Wednesday.

    Babandede also said that the NIS made a total payment of N38, 531 in the year under review, leaving a surplus of one million naira.

    He said that the dollar component (29.9 million dollars) was deposited into the Federation Account in line with financial regulations.

    Giving a breakdown of the funds generated, he said N14 billion was generated from passport issuance, N72 million from ECOWAS travel documents, and N1.9 billion from address verification fees paid by passport applicants.

    Babandede said that N186 million was realised from non-refundable administrative fees, N20 billion from issuance of resident permits and N1.6 billion from e-pass (penalties paid by foreigners, who overstayed in the country).

    On the dollar component of the revenue, he said 28 million dollars was generated from passport and one million dollars from the issuance of visa on arrival.

    The NIS said the monies were generated under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement, thus the expenditure involved payments to private companies for services rendered to the agency.

    The breakdown of the expenditure shows that N10 billion was paid to Iris Technologies, N1.4 billion to New works Solutions, N303 million to the National e-Government, and N744 million to Greater Washington.

    Babandede said that N15 billion was paid to Contec, the NIS technical partner on resident permits, N219 million to the Federal Ministry of Interior for supervision of the issuance of resident permits, and N2 billion to NIS “payment to IP Telcom’’.

    The comptroller-general said N268 million was paid to the Nigeria Security and Minting Company for services rendered to the agency, one billion naira to the Federal Inland Revenue Service ( FIRS ) as tax on services rendered by the NIS.

    The immigration boss further said that N5 billion was paid to government as sub-treasury, while N101 million went to IP Telcom for document-scanning services rendered to the NIS.

    NAN

  • Immigration suspends two officers for alleged human trafficking

    Immigration suspends two officers for alleged human trafficking

    The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has suspended two officers, Araoyinbo Oluwadare and Gabriel Awosanmi, for allegedly aiding and abetting human trafficking.

    Spokesman of the agency, Mr Sunday James, said on Friday that Oluwadare, a Senior Inspector of Immigration, and Awosanmi, an Immigration Assistant 1, were arrested at the Lagos international airport on Thursday night.

    They allegedly facilitated an attempted trafficking of six underage girls to Oman and Kuwait through an Ethiopian Airlines flight.

    Aviation security personnel at the airport apprehended the duo.

    Read Also: Immigration officers held for alleged human trafficking

    James said: “The Comptroller General of Immigration, Muhammad Babandede, has ordered the suspension of the above mentioned from duties with immediate effect in line with Service Rules and Regulations.

    “The suspension is to allow for detailed investigation into the issue with a view to unraveling their level of culpability and indeed other syndicates involved in the act.

    “The comptroller-general therefore assures the public of management’s commitment to the eradication of smuggling of migrants and trafficking of persons in the country.’’

  • FG evacuates 1,030 stranded Nigerians from Libya in 2 days

    FG evacuates 1,030 stranded Nigerians from Libya in 2 days

    The Federal Government on Monday said it evacuated 1,030 stranded Nigerian migrants from Libya between Jan. 7 and Jan 8, 2018.

    Alhaji Mustapha Maihaja, the Director-General of National Emergency Management Agency, disclosed this at a joint news conference by the Federal Government delegation to Libya.

    Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, had on Jan. 5 led a delegation on a fact-finding mission to Libya to secure the release of Nigerian migrants stranded in that country.

    The delegation comprised of Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora and Muhammad Babandede, Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service.

    Others were Julie Okah-Donli, Director General of National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and Sadiya Umar-Faruq, Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees.

    Maihaja told newsmen that the returnees were — 485 — who came back on Sunday and 545 who came back on Monday, noting that they were part of the 5,037 stranded Nigerians identified for evacuation back home.

    He stated that a reception centre approved by President Muhammadu Buhari had been set up in Port Harcourt, Rivers for the returnees.

    According to him, the returnees on arrival will be formally received and profiled before being transported to their various states.

    He said that the reception centre was organised in such a way that the Ministry of Health provided facilities to look after those with health-related problems.

    He explained that those who were critically ill were taken to University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital for treatment.

    He added that the returnees would be profiled through the Immigration, Directorate of State Service and other agencies, emphasising that those with criminal tendencies and ISIS inclination would be taken
    care of by relevant agencies.

    Maihaja said the delegation had 21 days to complete its operation.

    The Foreign Affairs Minister also said the delegation was in Libya to engage with Libyan Government at the highest level to facilitate the evacuation of the stranded Nigerian migrants from the North African country.

    Onyeama said the Nigerian mission in Libya was coordinating the identification of the Nigerian migrants with the support of International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

    According to him, they are being joined by a technical team comprising representatives from NEMA, Immigration and other relevant Nigerian government agencies.

    The minister said that the political and security challenges in that country made it difficult to secure the evacuation of some Nigerians back home.

    He added that “there are different centres of power in that country. The central government recognised by the UN and AU do not have full control of the territories controlled by rebels.”

    He pointed out that there were over 50 detention camps in Libya, many of them under the control of rebels and militia groups.

    The minister said that the young Nigerians being trafficked were shattered and battered and seen as a commodity to be traded for economic gains.

    He said the Libyan Government blamed the criminal elements for the human trafficking business, noting that the president was keen at dissociating the ordinary Libyan people from the narrative.

    He noted that there were complaints about how some migrants in detention camps were being exploited by government officials for economic gains.

    He said Nigerians who were residing in Libya legally complained of harassment by Libyan Government officials who they said destroyed their passports and other residency papers.

    The NAPTIP Director-General said the agency would profile the returnees to identify those who were real victims of trafficking.

    Okah-Donli said “the returnees would be counselled by trained personnel and those with a medical condition would be treated at the agency’s facilities.”

    She said the rehabilitation period would last for six months during which the returnees would be trained on different skills acquisition and empowered with tools.

    “We will monitor them for about two years to ensure that they don’t re-embark on the treacherous journey,” she added.

  • Obasanjo condemns resurgence of slavery in Africa

    Obasanjo condemns resurgence of slavery in Africa

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday, condemned the resurgence of slavery in some parts of Africa, saying that the development was worrisome.

    Speaking at the 2017 Annual Conference of the Comptroller General of Immigration held at the MITROS Residences in Abeokuta, Obasanjo said that slave trade in the 21st century should be condemned in the strongest  term possible.

    The theme for the conference was : ” Managing Migration and Facilitating Trade and Development in 21st Century Nigeria : NIS’ Perspective”.

    The former president noted that the current development in Africa should be a sober reflection for African leaders.

    He explained that the leaders must feel a sense of regret on what they ought to do, what they had done and what they had not done.

    “I believe that slave trade in the 21st century should be condemned in the strongest language possible and nobody who is involved in it should be excused.

    “What can we do and what must we do? We must ensure that conducive atmosphere is created for genuine exchange of goods and ensure development within our country, sub-region, continent and the world which we live.

    “But then today, migration has a very nasty connotation particularly when you watch the television and you hear the story of thousands of our youths daring to go through the desert.

    “Then after they have embark on such perilous  journeys, some of them are sold as slaves. Slaves in the 21st century, Africans being sold by Africans and maybe to Africans.

    “All of us as leaders must feel a sense of regret and have sober reflection on what we have done or what we have not done to bring this about to our own people, ” he said.

    Obasanjo, charged the men of the NIS  to imbibe the culture of training, professionalism, integrity, loyalty, and service, saying that all these must not be taken for granted.

    Read also:Politics not about life and death – Obasanjo

    In his address, the Comptroller – General of NIS , Muhammad Babandede, said that the service was committed to safe and regular migration of Nigerian citizens and foreigners.

    He disclosed that the current issue being witnessed  in Libya was not new to the NIS and it had regularly engaged in measures and activities to reduce the menace.

     

    Earlier, Gov. Ibikunle Amosun who declared the conference open, also condemned the resurrection of slave trade in Libya, saying that African leaders should rise to condemn the act.

    Amosun charged all the participants at the conference to see the programme as an avenue to brainstorm and come up with practical solutions that would be of benefits to the Nigerians and the country.

    NAN

  • Obasanjo condemns resurgence of slavery in Africa

    Obasanjo condemns resurgence of slavery in Africa

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday, condemned the resurgence of slavery in some parts of Africa, saying that the development was worrisome.

    Speaking at the 2017 Annual Conference of the Comptroller General of Immigration held at the MITROS Residences in Abeokuta, Obasanjo said that slave trade in the 21st century should be condemned in the strongest  term possible.

    The theme for the conference was : “Managing Migration and Facilitating Trade and Development in 21st Century Nigeria : NIS’ Perspective”.

    The former president noted that the current development in Africa should be a sober reflection for African leaders.

    He explained that the leaders must feel a sense of regret on what they ought to do, what they had done and what they had not done.

    “I believe that slave trade in the 21st century should be condemned in the strongest language possible and nobody who is involved in it should be excused.

    “What can we do and what must we do? We must ensure that conducive atmosphere is created for genuine exchange of goods and ensure development within our country, sub-region, continent and the world which we live.

    “But then today, migration has a very nasty connotation particularly when you watch the television and you hear the story of thousands of our youths daring to go through the desert.

    “Then after they have embark on such perilous  journeys, some of them are sold as slaves. Slaves in the 21st century, Africans being sold by Africans and maybe to Africans.

    “All of us as leaders must feel a sense of regret and have sober reflection on what we have done or what we have not done to bring this about to our own people, ” he said.

    Obasanjo, charged the men of the NIS  to imbibe the culture of training, professionalism, integrity, loyalty, and service, saying that all these must not be taken for granted.

    In his address, the Comptroller – General of NIS,  Muhammad Babandede, said that the service was committed to safe and regular migration of Nigerian citizens and foreigners.

    He disclosed that the current issue being witnessed  in Libya was not new to the NIS and it had regularly engaged in measures and activities to reduce the menace.

    Babandede however warned travel agencies, individuals and officers in  the passport offices at various borders who are engaged in smuggling of migrants to desist from it, saying anybody found wanting would be made to face the law.

    He said that the service have some cases of smuggling under investigation, urging his men to step -up their activities through intelligence gathering, speedy investigations to allow the law to take its full course .

    Babandede added that starting January, 2018, the National  Identity Number  would be part of requirements for issuance of Nigerian passport with the National Identity Management Commission.

    He noted that the aim of the conference was to review the E- passport, after 10 years of its introduction in order to better the services they rendered.

    “I wish to state that NIS is committed to safe and regular migration to prevent the sad stories of loss of lives and sources of Nigerian citizens and others, occasioned by the desperate journey through the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean sea.

    “The recent media revelations of the sad events in Libya are not new to the NIS and we had regularly engaged in measures and activities to reduce the menace in collaboration with partners and stakeholders, ” he said.

    Earlier, Gov. Ibikunle Amosun who declared the conference open, also condemned the resurrection of slave trade in Libya, saying that African leaders should rise to condemn the act.

    Amosun charged all the participants at the conference to see the programme as an avenue to brainstorm and come up with practical solutions that would be of benefits to the Nigerians and the country.

  • Extortion: NIS bans cash payments at passport offices

    Extortion: NIS bans cash payments at passport offices

    The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has banned cash payments for passport processing as part of efforts to eliminate corruption at all passport offices nationwide.‎

    NIS spokesperson, Sunday James, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.

    He‎ said that the Comptroller General of the NIS, Mr Muhammad Babandede, has directed that henceforth all payments for passport processing must be done online and through designated banks‎.‎

    He said that the NIS boss had, in a circular, directed‎ all passport control officers not to allow cash payments in any of the passport premises.
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    “All payments in respect to passport processing are to be done by applicants through banks to generate application ID and reference number on the NIS portal and not through an individual or touts,” James said.
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    According to him, the NIS CG has also ordered an‎ investigation into allegations of passport racketeering at some passport offices in Lagos with a view to sanitising the system.‎

    James therefore urged passport applicants to ensure that all categories of Nigerian passports fees were done online.    ‎
    ‎
    “Passport applicants are therefore strongly advised to visit the NIS website www.immigration.gov.ng to confirm the approved fees for all categories of Nigerian Passports and age groups before making payments,” he added.

    He said that the management of all passport offices have been directed to paste all information required at the premises to guide applicants in line with the executive orders.
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    He urged Nigerians to direct any complaint or enquiries to 07080607900 and the email address nis.servicom@nigeriaimmigration.gov.ng.
    ‎
    The spokesperson advised applicants against patronising touts or agents‎ in order to ensure efficient service delivery.
    ‎
    The NIS boss had vowed to stamp out corruption in the operations of the NIS as part of efforts to reposition the Service and ensure efficient service delivery.

  • NIS to rehabilitate training schools in four states

    The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Muhammad Babandede has pledged to rehabilitate the Service training schools in Kano, Sokoto, Rivers and Imo states.

    Babandede made the pledge in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.

    He said that the measure was to ensure that‎ the schools are repositioned in line with international best practices for the training of officers and men of the Service.
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    Babandede said his vision was to restore the old glory of the schools when it used to train para-military operatives from the West Africa sub-region and beyond.
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    He noted that with the ongoing‎ recruitment into the Service, the schools need to be in top shape to accommodate and train the new recruits.
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    He said he had inspected facilities at the Kano training school during the combined passing out parade of 456 officers and border patrol corps with a view to getting first hand knowledge on the level of work done.

    He said that plans were underway to visit other training schools also with a view to repositioning them.
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    The NIS boss appealed to the respective state governments where the schools are domiciled to also support in the rehabilitation and equipping of the schools.
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    He said that some renovations had been carried out in the schools but more still needed to be done in terms upgrading their facilities to international standard.

    He said that the NIS was already collaborating with its international donor partners such as the European Union (EU), GIZ, International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in the training of officers and men in the schools.

  • Passport booklet: FG explores local production to ease scarcity

    The‎ Federal Government says it is seriously exploring the local production of passport booklets in the country as part of plans to save cost and ease the lingering scarcity of the document.

    ‎

    Mr Sunday James, spokesperson for the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.

    NAN reports that the passport booklet is presently being produced‎ by Iris Smart Technology Nigeria (ISTL) through its parent company, Iris Corporation based in Malaysia.
    ‎
    James said that‎ the Minister of Interior, retired LT.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau had directed for the domestication of the production of the passport booklets in the country.

    He, however, did not give details of the directive, claiming that he was not to be preview to it‎.

    James assured that notwithstanding the measure, the NIS was working round the clock to ensure sustained delivery and distribution of the booklets across all its commands in the country.

    “The Comptroller-General of the Immigration Service, Muhammad Babandede, wishes to inform the general public and most especially those who have approached our Passport
    Processing Centres of recent, that the Service now has standard Passport Booklets in sufficient quantity for issuance.

    “All Passport Control Officers have been directed to clear the backlog of outstanding applications,” he said.‎
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    Mr Ehisienmen Osaigbovo, the Press Secretary to the Minister of Interior,told NAN that the minister was committed to resolving all issues relating to the passport production.‎
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    Osaigbovo said that the minister had set up a committee, headed by the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to look into the local production of the document and resolve the challenge posed by its scarcity.

    He said the committee was also charged with the responsibility of exploring ways of starting the local production of the passport booklets, in view of the numerous advantages.

    “You know if we produce the booklets locally, we will be safeguarding the critical database of Nigerians, safe foreign exchange and create more employment,” he said.

    He further said the committee was set up to iron out all the legal issues associated with the current contract with ISTL with a view to ensuring local production and involving the Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Company in the production.

    NAN investigation reveals that ISTL had in 2016 requested an upward review of the price of obtaining the passports‎ due to what it termed the increased cost of production and falling exchange rate of the naira to the dollar.
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    Nigerians all over the country and abroad have continued to complain about the delay in getting and renewing their international passport due to the scarcity of the passport booklets.

     

  • ‎NIS boss tasks officers on strict enforcement of new immigration regulations

    The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mr Muhammad Babandede, has charged officers and men of the Service to ensure strict enforcement of the new Immigration Regulations 2017.

    Babandede gave the charge on Sunday in Abuja at workshop for‎ senior officers of the Service on the implementation of the new immigration law.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Minister of Interior, (retired) Lt.-Gen.‎ Abdulrahman Dambazau had on March 20 launched the newly gazette Immigration Regulations 2017.

    The NIS boss said that the workshop was‎ organised to acquaint officers and men of the service on the new law and how to effectively and professionally implement it.

    “This workshop is meant to train our officers on the Immigration Act 2015 and the Immigration Regulation 2017 with the aim of understanding and implementing the new law,’’ he said.

    He expressed optimism that with the proper implementation of the Immigration Regulations, issues of illegal immigrants and trans-border crimes will soon be nipped in the bud.

    Babandede said aside the training there was also need for the deployment of sophisticated equipment, gadgets and border patrol vehicles to strategic locations across the country.

    ‎The new Immigration document which replaces the outdated Immigration Act of 1963 empowers the NIS to properly register all foreigners, protect the borders, enhance internal security and attract foreign investors in line with international best practices.

    ‎
    The workshop was attended by senior officers of the NIS, Immigration experts, the academia and the legal advisers from the NIS and Ministry of Interior‎.