Immigration moves to check irregular migration of Nigerians

By Evelyn Usman

ABUJA — The Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, has  changed the common ink used in arrival and departure endorsement of passports at the nation’s airports, with a view to nipping in the bud the irregular migration of Nigerians.

The service announced this through its spokesman, Mr Epedeme King, on behalf of the Comptroller-General, Mr Chukwurah Udeh, when  the new Chief of Mission of the International Organisation for Migration, IOM, Mr. Martin Ocaga, paid him a courtesy visit at the Immigration Headquarters in Abuja.

He said in  replacement, an Ultra Violet ink which would only be available to the NIS would be used.
In addition to this development, Udeh hinted that the Service also encoded its endorsement stamps and attached them to individual schedule officers at the international airports, noting that this way,  the schedule officers are held responsible for negligence or misdemeanor.

In order to check the menace of fake passports, visas and other fraudulent endorsement in travelling documents, Udeh said the service through some of its reforms, started with painstaking intelligence work at the infamous Oluwole market in Lagos and other black spots in the country.

At the end, a comprehensive report to the Federal Government, according to him, was made, resulting in the raids of these black spots, “where passports of various countries, breeder documents for passports and visas as well as currencies and endorsement stamps were impounded.”