The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigeria Immigration Service

  • Immigration boss to officers: We must overhaul our operations

    Immigration boss to officers: We must overhaul our operations

    The Comptroller General, (CG) of the Nigeria Immigration Service, (NIS), Muhammed Babandede Friday disclosed that the service must overhaul its processes and procedures.

    The process Babandede said will start by deploying cutting edge technology to reduce bureaucratic bottle necks in this age of global competitiveness in service delivery.

    He said this while addressing Assistant Comptrollers-General and other top officers at the Nigeria Immigration Service Headquarters in Abuja.

    According to him, the existing channels will be followed when treating applications for facilities but the difference is that it will be done electronically.

    A statement issued by the NIS spokesman and Deputy Comptroller of Immigration, Ekpedeme King, the CGI is to establish an electronic mail desk in his office that will be connected to all offices, while a Chief Superintendent of Immigration has already been appointed as desk officer.

    In the same vein the CGI has delegated some of his responsibilities such as the approval of certain categories of passport applications to his Deputies and Assistants in order to reduce the work load for the CGI as well as facilitate the processing of passport.

    “It is our administration and you must be seen to be part of it and accept such responsibilities to goes with your office,” Babandede advised.

    Also, the NIS boss said the State Governments will be expected to provide Comptrollers in their States with the lists of State commissioners, and aides of their Governors for verification.

    He said: “The Comptrollers will confirm the eligibility of the applicants to the Service Headquarters. This reform is to facilitate the process of issuance of official/service passports as the approval would have been granted before they visit the Service Headquarters for biometric data acquisition.

    “Since the State Comptrollers are closer to this tier of government, they are better placed to verify the eligibility of the applicants to official passports and convey same to us electronically”.

    Babandede also stated that it is his desire: “to reform our processes down to the Local Government Area level in order to promote the ease of doing business in Nigeria. For as we all know when the foreign investors bring their business to Nigeria they also provide employment opportunities for our teeming youths”.

    He has set a timeline of two months to complete the reforms in passport administration.

  • Babandede is new Immigration boss

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday approved the appointment of Mohammed Babandede as the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).

    Until his appointment, Babandede was a Deputy Comptroller General at the NIS Headquarters.

    According to a statement issued by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Bassey Akpanyung,  Babandele replaces Mr. Martin Abeshi, who retired from the NIS at the end of his tenure.

    The appointment took effect from May 15.

  • Immigration repatriates 47 illegal Nigeriens from Nigeria

    Immigration repatriates 47 illegal Nigeriens from Nigeria

    The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) said it has repatriated no fewer than 47 illegal Nigeriens in Kwara state back to their country.

    Briefing reporters Friday in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, the state Comptroller, Mrs. Abimbola Abiodun-Ojo said that the illegal immigrants were arrested from their base in Budo-Sunday-Kinikini, Kaiama local government area of the state.

    The comptroller, represented by NIS spokesperson in the state, Adeyemi Adeshola said: “Following a tip off that was made available to us, we sent our men on intelligence gathering. We were able to find out that there are some non-Nigerian residing in Kaiama LG, specifically at Budo-Sunde-Kinikini. We went for a raid and were able to arrest about 47 Nigeriens, nine males, 11 females and 27 minors. They have been repatriated to Niger.

    “We went there for the raid and after the raid, we had to do profiling and screening. We actually invited the Department of State Services to join us in the screening. We discovered that they did not have proper documents to reside in the country. They came in through illegal means. That was why we eased them out of the country.

    “Their stay in the country was already a threat because it is a threat to the social life in that environment, to our economy and the infrastructure. It is a threat because they did not come in through the appropriate channel or route. With time, if they were allowed to stay there jobless, they can take to crime.

    “I thank the people that made information available to us and I also want them to continue to make available necessary information especially when they see influx of new faces in their environment. They should contact the necessary security agencies so that we can do our jobs and make sure that everything is okay.”

  • Insecurity: NIS vows to flush out illegal immigrants

    Insecurity: NIS vows to flush out illegal immigrants

    The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mr Martin Abeshe, says the Service had put in place new stringent measures to flush out illegal migrants from Nigeria.

    Abeshe made the disclosure at a world press briefing on migration and border management issues in Nigeria on Friday in Abuja.

    He decried the menace of illegal immigrants in the country and noted that the service had arrested and deported a lot of culprits across the country.

    “I am sure you have been hearing of arrests and deportation of these illegal migrants by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) from across the country.

    “We are up to the task; our officers in the various parts of the country are performing very well, that is why today there has been a drastic drop in the number of foreigners who commit crime and violence in the country.

    “We have also put in place additional measures to checkmate any foreigner that is here to disrupt the peace we are enjoying,’’ he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that about 500 migrants were recently arrested by the NIS in Niger, of whom 300 were declared illegal immigrants and awaiting deportation.

    Abeshe also said that the NIS was doing a lot to ensure more efficiency in the production of international passports for Nigerians in line with international best practice.

    He said as part of efforts to reposition the Service, the NIS had concluded plans to host the Comptroller-General of Immigration Annual Conference and Stakeholders Interactive Forum.

    He said the forum would afford participants opportunity to access the performance of the NIS compared to world best practice.

    Abeshe said that recommendations reached at the end of the conference would be presented to the Federal Executive Council and could be gazetted as a policy document that would transform operations of the NIS.

    He said that the British High Commissioner in Nigeria, European Union (EU) and local and foreign migration and border experts would deliver papers at the conference.

    NAN reports that the conference would take place between April 6 and April 8 in Lafia, Nasarawa State.

     

  • 172 Nigerians deported from Libya 

    The Libyan Government Friday deported 172 Nigerians over several immigration irregularities.

    The deportees arrived the hajj camp area of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport around 7:00am comprising 166 males and six females.

    The Public Relations Officer, Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, Mr. Ekpedeme King confirmed the deportation with our correspondent on phone, but could not give the registration number of the aircraft that brought them into the country.

    The deportees our correspondent gathered were repatriated into the country with chartered aircraft from Libya.

    The returnees were received by various agencies such as Immigration that checked their identities to ascertain their nationalities, Police, National Agency for Protection and Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, and other relevant stakeholders.

    As at the time of filing this report, the returnees had moved away from the Lagos Airport to their various destinations.

    King told our correspondent that the deportees were returned to the country for overstaying their visas in Libya and other immigration offences in the North African country.

    He said, “What I can tell you is that some Nigerians were deported today (yesterday) for immigration offences. Most of those brought overstayed Libya.

    One of the deportees, who simply identified himself as Chris claimed that he travelled out of Nigeria about two years ago in search of greener pastures.

    He however insisted that he didn’t commit any crime in Libya that would warrant his deportation back to Nigeria.

    Last November, about 76 Nigerians were deported from three European countries including United Kingdom.

     

  • Immigration to recruit 5, 000 personnel soon

    Immigration to recruit 5, 000 personnel soon

    • Replaces dead, retired, officers with over 200 people in the North-East

    Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), will soon commence the recruitment of 5, 000 officers, following government approval, NIS Public Relations Officer, (PRO), Ekpedeme Kings disclosed Thursday.

    The 5, 000 vacancies, Kings said were: “approved under the past administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan for fresh recruitment in 2012, which is still pending.”

    Speaking with our correspondent on the alleged recruitment scam in the NIS, the immigration spokesman said the service has not started any fresh recruitment.

    He explained that the immigration only carried out over 200 replacements of officers that died in the North –East zone following the attacked by the Boko Haram sects, resignation and retirement of its personnel at the junior cadre within the last few years.

    It would be recalled that there was a report in a National Daily (not The Nation) early this week with the caption: “NIS in fresh recruitment scam”.

    The publication alleged that the NIS is in a fresh service.

    It further alleged that the recruitment was done in December, 2015 while the new recruitment was done in December, 2015 while the new recruits have already been paid their January salaries.

    Kings denied the development when asked.

    His words: “We did replacement of over 200 officers. The fact is that Boko Haram has been rioted out of the North- East zone and now for the Army to carry out its operations in other areas it is common knowledge in the country that the para-military, are to continue to take over the areas that have been conquered.

    “We should be able to maintain the peace in that area for developmental proposes. The Army will go on with the war, while the paramilitary gives support and also while government is reconstructing the area.

    “Because we have not been able to recruit for the past five or six years, due to our failed recruitment exercises we have not been able to have the kind of man power that is needed to carry out this administrative occupation of the North-East zone.

    “So that services approached government that so many officers have died in the North East zone, others have retied because they have completed their years of service or on account of age, others have been moved due to several reasons.

    “The workforce we are putting to this places are not actually the middle cadre or the senior officers it is the inspectorate that is level 1-7. We have the senior officers that are already there.

    “We pleaded with government to replace these people and government considered and government gave the approval. The number I do not know but it is over 200 and not 300.”

    “The 5, 000 vacancies were approved under the past administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan for fresh recruitment in 2012, which is still pending.”

    He said 80 percent of the 5, 000 officers that are going to be recruited soon will be deployed to the borders across the country after proper training.

  • Fed Govt withdraws ‘illegal’ diplomatic, official passports

    Fed Govt withdraws ‘illegal’ diplomatic, official passports

    The Federal Government yesterday directed the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to retrieve all valid diplomatic and official passports from people who are not entitled to it.

    According to a statement by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Yusuf Isiaka Alhaji and made available to The Nation, “The Federal Government has found out that some Nigerians who are not entitled to hold diplomatic and official passports are in possession of these documents.

    “In view of the Federal Government’s determination to protect and promote Nigeria’s integrity in the comity of nations, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Interior has directed the Nigeria Immigration Service to retrieve all valid diplomatic and official passports with immediate effect from all persons who are not entitled to hold such documents.”

     

  • Immigration deports 158 foreigners

    Immigration deports 158 foreigners

    The Seme Command of the Nigeria Immigration Service said on Thursday it deported 158 irregular immigrants between January and June.

    The command’s spokesman, Mr. Olaniyi Sowunmi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Badagry that 29 Nigerians were also deported from other countries.

    He added that 58,260 people arrived the country through the border, with valid passports and complete documents.

    “From January to June 2013, 58,260 arrived Nigerian through the border with their passports. 38,840 of them were males, while 19,420 were females.

    He, however, said that 59,210 people, including 42,474 males and 16,736 females, left Nigeria through the Seme border within the period.

    Sowunmi explained further that 67 foreigners were refused entry through the border during the period.

    “The foreigners that were refused entry were mainly from Mali, Benin Republic, Gabon and Congo.

    “4,055 Nigerians were refused departure from Nigeria to other West African countries, due to irregularities in their visas,” he said.

    He said the command also received 29 rescued victims of human trafficking from outside the country, which it handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).

  • Boko Haram: 57 Nigeriens repatriated

    The Nigeria Immigration Service on Tuesday repatriated 57 illegal immigrants from the Republic of Niger.

    The Comptroller of Immigration in Lagos, Mr. Rasheed Odupeyin, told journalists that the immigrants were among the 92 suspects arrested during a raid by the police.

    He said the suspects were arrested at the weekend in a joint operation by the police and the Lagos State Task Force on Environmental Offences, from various parts of the state.

    Odupeyin also confirmed that no weapon was found on any of the suspects but that he could not say whether the suspects had link with any terrorist group.

    He said that 17 of the 92 immigrants who were found to be Nigerians after a thorough screening would be handed over to the police for further investigation.

    Odupeyin said the 18 Malians among the suspects “may not be repatriated immediately because of the ongoing war in that country,’’adding that there were no Chadians among the suspects.

    He, however, said the service would contact the office of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in Lagos to ascertain the status of the Malians.

    One of the suspects, Ibrahim Mohammed, a Nigerian, claimed that most of them were from Takai in Kano State and that they had no link with any terrorist group.

    “We are in Lagos to earn a living through hard work,’’ he said.

    One of the Malians, who gave his name simply as Amadu, claimed that he had been coming to Lagos from Mali through Kamba, a border town in Kebbi State and that they have no criminal record.