‘Immigration blocked 11,000 from foreign travel in March’

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) said it stopped 11,000 Nigerians from traveling abroad in March this year for fear that they may embarrass the country.

NIS Acting Comptroller General, Rilwan Bala Musa, said this yesterday while briefing newsmen shortly after addressing officers who were blocked at the main gate of the Immigration headquarters for reporting late to work.
He said the service also denied 10,000 aliens entry and recorded 519,000 others who officially entered the country last month.

“Within the month under review we refused 11,000 Nigerians from departing because we understand that they were going to destroy the image of the country, likewise we refused admitting 10,000 aliens coming to the country. We have arrival of 519,000 coming to Nigeria - when we said arrival we mean Nigerians and non-Nigerians coming,” he said.

The service said a high percentage of those seeking to travel out were females and their destination was Europe. “While profiling them you will find out they have no reason for traveling apart from embarrassing the country.”

Rilwan also said an officer will be dismissed for stealing passport booklets. “It is quite embarrassing. He has worked there for long. I don’t want to preempt the case but definitely it is a dismissal case because he has no reason whatsoever to be caught with 50 passport booklets.”

“Nigerian passport is the best passport you can think of. I will give you my reason, America says because of human right they will not allow their thumbprints on their passports because it is private to them; it is only in Nigeria that we agreed to do this,” he said.

The acting CGI said he was at the gate to monitoring staff movement toward enhancing discipline among officers and men in the service.

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