Comptroller-General of Immigration, Muhammad Babandede
Many Nigerians are claiming the citizenship of other countries in West Africa in order to obtain passports from those countries to travel overseas, THISDAY has learnt.
THISDAY gathered that among the Nigerians that do this include those whose passports have been seized by the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Nigerians who are arranged by agents to travel overseas for cheap labour and prostitution and Nigerians who seek for asylum from some countries in Europe, the US and Canada.
Senior Nigerian Immigration official in Abuja explained to THISDAY that according to the law, NIS seizes the passports of Nigerians deported to the country for a minimum of two years and such people are not allowed to travel again.
In order for them to travel, they obtain passports from countries such as Ghana, Senegal, Guinea, Mozambique and others, adding that most of the time these passports are “oluwole”, which means that they are fake and Immigration detect most of them at the airport.
The Immigration official also told THISDAY that there is syndicate of agents who recruit young Nigerians and send them to various countries as maids, for prostitution or engagement in other cheap labour.
He said with passports from other West African countries they are given easy access to Europe, Middle East, Asia, the US and Canada and the immigration of the countries of their destination subject them to less scrutiny compared to if they travel with Nigeria’s green passport.
The official also explained to THISDAY that those seeking for asylum find it easy with the passport of other countries in West Africa than with Nigerian passport, “although with crisis in many parts of Nigeria and emasculation of freedom of some groups, Canada and other countries are now granting asylum to Nigerians who come from crisis ridden areas like Plateau, Borno, Zamfara, Benue, Taraba and members of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).”
THISDAY spoke to another senior Immigration official in Lagos who confirmed the reports and said many countries in the world are stringent in processing travellers with Nigerian passports.
“Those who are doing this believe that if you are holding a Nigerian passport, it may be difficult for you to access some countries especially North African and Middle East countries. They have this belief that if you are holding a Senegalese or Mozambique passport, for instance, it may be easier for you to penetrate United Arab Emirates (UAE) than a Nigerian passport because they seem to have sympathy for them. The way you will be subjected to if you are holding a Nigerian passport would be different from the way you will be subjected to if you are holding Liberian or Nigerien passports.
“Again, they believe that Nigerian passport attracts more attention than most of these other small countries,” he said.
The Immigration official further explained that some deported Nigerians whose passports are seized on arrival by Immigration claim to have lost their passports and obtain police report and court affidavit to back their claim as they request for new passport, which they succeed in obtaining.
He said that to forestall that from happening again, Immigration record all lost passports and send the records to all the international airports, so when the traveller comes with his passport it is cross-checked before it is stamped for approval.
Passengers at Lagos airport Terminal
“In most cases, some Nigerians apply for lost case (lost passport) and what are the requirements to be qualified as a lost case? Affidavit, police report, declaration of age, but since we realise that there is a lacunae in the system, we now release all the lost cases because once you said you lost your passports, we can trace the passport number and make it invalid.”
According to the Immigration official, a Nigerian citizens may not be allowed to travel for these reasons, “Insufficient fund, invalid visa, invalid passport, no return ticket, doubtful mission; for example, if you said you were admitted to study overseas and you have no admission letter and if the traveller has no hotel reservation; then subsisting cases like deportation.”
When THISDAY contacted spokesman of Nigerian Immigration Service, Sunday James to throw more light on these issues, he said that he was attending Command Course in Sokoto so he would not comment on any public issue.
THISDAY
