By Samuel Oyadongha

YENAGOA—THE Nigeria Immigration Services, NIS, in Bayelsa State, has raised the alarm over the increase in the use of the Ecowas Travel Certificates, ETC, by suspected human traffickers to transport under aged persons outside the country.

According to NIS, data check and analysis showed that there was a sudden and worrisome increase in the rate at which young people patronised the ECOWAS Travel Certificate, which has led to the rescue of two persons by denying them the facility, and several others without genuine reasons after due diligent interrogation.

The Bayelsa Command of NIS in a statement by the Comptroller, Sunday James, noted that the service after due risk analysis and a checklist of the age group that goes for it, the reasons given for the travel and countries where the holders of the document frequent, “It was on this ground that the unit directly responsible for the issuance, ECOWAS Unit was tasked to add additional security document to the requirement, call the Suspicious Travel Interrogation Form, which was zero down to any suspected case.

“It has yielded result. So far, it has helped in rescuing two victims by denying them the facility and denying several others without genuine reasons after due diligent interrogation. In one of the cases, the trafficker is at large after the victim was stopped prompted our alert system.”

He also pointed out that in line with the directive of the Comptroller General of Immigration Service, Isa Idris, to all heads of Commands and special formations of the service towards the end of the year to ensure water tight border control and management, “A victim by name Miss Maureen Ekpe was stopped and denied facility after thorough investigation, while the purported trafficker is at large, victim was released to her family with warning.”