Last Monday, the federal government unveiled a new immigration policy document known as “Immigration Regulations 2017’’ in exchange for the 1963 Immigration Act that had been in operation for 54 years. PATRICK ANDREW writes
The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has gone through series of metamorphosis since its inception in 1958 when it was extracted from the Nigeria Police Force as a department. Though a department in the police, it inherited the Immigration Ordinance of 1958 thereby taking charge of the core immigration duties including issuing and authenticating travelling documents for immigrants and Nigerians wishing to embark of foreign journeys. Five years, following this development it again went through a more elaborate change when it was formally established by an Act of Parliament (Cap171, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria on the 1st of August, 1963 and was headed by a director.
Ever since, the Service has had other structural and legal changes majorly transformations, reformations and restructuring and repositioning no doubt to inject vibrancy and keep its operations abreast with modern and international trend in the service. Th e changes were equally premised on the imperative and indeed essence of improved implementation of modern migration management and monitoring of trans-border activities both for economic gains for Nigeria and prevention from external anti-social political infl ection.
Fittingly, Minister of Interior, Lieutenant Gen Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd), went memory lane while presenting the new immigration regulation to the public in Abuja. He elaborated on the necessity for the “Immigration Regulations 2017’’ stressing that it was not only inevitable and necessary step to bring Nigerian Immigration Service up to speed with modern practices as well as rejuvenate moribund clauses and introduce stringent clauses to checkmate abuses and over simplification of some operational laws. The new provision is therefore in language of the minister a vital document that seeks to operationalise the Immigration Act, 2015 and provide the legal framework for the dynamic and unfolding migratory realities.
In essence, the Act had been passed into law and assented by the President since 2015 but the formalities needed give the approved legal teeth to it had been pending until Monday exercise. Danbazzau said the new document was essential to tackle certain socioeconomic vices hitherto unknown or had off ered insignifi cant challenges to the state as at 1963 when the Service came under some partial operational independence.
It has equally been designed to address operational defi ciency brought about fresh challenges of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), and make it responsive to global migration trend including the disturbing influx of terrorists and trans-border vandals. Th e new regulation therefore addresses prevention of insurgency through the border.
The new regulation chiefly seeks to eliminate the burdens people are usually subjected in the processes of obtaining travelling documents both from and into Nigeria. The new regulations booklet comprises of 80 sections broken into 10 basic headings and in the words of the words of the minister who was visibly elated the 1963 Acts has not only brought up to date but infused with new provisions and clauses that modernise the operations of the Nigerian Immigration Service.
Little wonder the former military general with all the miens and nuances of a military offi cer who has attained a feat hitherto thought invincible, added with certain palpable aff ability the new regulations include temporary permit, visa on arrival, entry for business purposes and immigrants register among others.
He assured diplomats present at the ceremony that the hitherto cumbersome processes foreign business personnel were subjected to before they could needed travelling documents to entre for businesses have been drastically reduced. Harping one of the key points of the new regulations the minister said it was also designed to prevent the infl ux of killer herdsmen and some other irregular immigrants. “Certainly, remember I mentioned that it will curtail the movement of trans-humans.
Th ere is absolutely no doubt that we have herdsmen who go from Nigeria to other countries and we also have from other countries that come to Nigeria. “Th ere was an ECOWAS decision in 1998, which provides for control of movement of trans-humans, which include providing reception centres by host countries and also issuing international trans-humans certifi cates which is providing by the ECOWAS.
“So, this regulation will be able to enhance that decision which has been since 1998, but has not been implemented. We are working on that. “As you know, the issue of herdsmen and farmers clashes is not just a local issue it is an issue that has wider regional implications because ECOWAS once recognises free movement which include that of trans-humans.” In the same vein, the Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service, Mohammed Babandede, described coming into being of the new regulations as an historic achievement and was at pains recollecting how the near moribund 1963 Acts which became operational when second republic president, Alhaji Shehu Aliyu Shagari was clearly an impediment. With a smile running on his lips, Babandede said that until May 21, 2015, when the revised Immigration Acts was enacted, his agency operated with the 1963 Act, which was not only obsolete but grossly inadequate to contain unfolding migratory realities. Babandede, said aside providing legal framework for eff ective implementation of the Act 2015, the revised document consolidates all existing Immigration Regulations.
Further, the CGI explained that the revised regulation is a product of painstaking discourse that includes contributions from experts, as well as serving and retired Immigration Offi cers. Some of the landmark sections are: Entry into and Departure from Nigeria which provides among others that every list of disembarking and transiting passengers to be supplied by the master of a ship or aircraft pursuant to section 16 of the Act shall show the full names and aliases of every passenger together with the initials of such passengers. Th is provisions diff er from what used to be in the past and ensures that the biodata of every passenger is captured in possession of any immigration offi cer unlike in the past when a specifi c offi cer of a certain rank was responsible for it.
Resident permit shall not be issued to any immigrant unless the foreigner is in possession of a valid visa at the time of entry into Nigeria. Th is is important of because the new regulations allows for issuance of visa at entry point. The new regulations are in the Federal Republic of Nigeria Offi cial Gazette, Volume 104, Notice 28.
