The Assistant Comptroller General, Zone
A, Lagos, Mr. Musa Maza, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) on Wednesday
warned the agency’s personnel attached to the Murtala Muhammed
International Airport (MMIA), Lagos against engaging in illegal
repatriation of foreigners from the country.
Speaking at MMIA during his maiden tour
of the facilities at the airport, Maza warned that any officer caught in
illegal repatriation of foreigners without following due process would
be severely sanctioned by the authority, stressing that the Zone would
not tolerate any act of indiscipline from any of its staff.
On the issuance of Visas to the citizens
of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Maza insisted
that the three months agreement within the states must be sustained by
all the officers unless such a traveller requested otherwise.
He also urged them to desist from making
frivolous demands from travellers especially first time travellers,
declaring that anyone caught in the act would be shown the exit by the
service.
He said, “I know that some of our
officers maybe indulging in illegal repatriation of foreigners
especially when such have an issue with their employers without
following the due process. I want to appeal to you that if you are doing
that, you should desist from that immediately.
“Also, ECOWAS citizens visiting this
country should be given the required three months as recognised by law
unless if such a traveller requests for fewer days. However, officers
are not expected to make phone calls while on duty and I want to appeal
to you to be cautious when discharging your duties because any form of
mistake will not be allowed by the Zone.”
He however, promised to be fair in
coordinating of events in the zone, but emphasised that he would be
resolute in order for the campaign promises of the Federal Government to
be actualised.
Maza also promised to tackle some of the
challenges in the command and disclosed that the Zone would soon meet
with the Management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN,
in order to propel the command forward.
Comptroller of Immigration, MMIA
Command, Mrs. Chizoba Dibi in her remarks disclosed that about 50
officers from the command were recently trained on fraud detection by
the American Embassy.
She lamented several challenges
bedevilling the command to include inadequate office space, operational
vehicles, funding and declared that the hajj camp at the MMIA, required
complete overhauling to rid it of touts and touting activities.
She explained that five foreigners had
been repatriated from the country between January and September, 2015
while one stowaway was returned from abroad to Nigeria.
