The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has advised transport companies shuttling between Nigeria and neighbouring West African countries to ensure that passengers travelling with them have their travelling documents.
Comptroller of Immigration in charge of Seme Command, Dominic Asogwa, gave the advice while fielding questions from newsmen in Lagos on Thursday, saying it was necessary they understand the position of the Law and that of the Immigration Service as regards people travelling outside the country.
Asogwa, who remarked that transport companies play important role in ensuring national security, urged them to first interview their intending customers to ensure they had their ECOWAS travelling certificates or international passports, not National Identity Cards.
He recalled that he recently witnessed transport companies carrying people without travelling documents, and when accosted, they claimed ignorant of the laws, and their journey was halted.
On the Immigration duty at the border, the Controller said, “We don’t generate revenue here. We don’t issue facilities here. Our job here is purely security, to have records of who is going out or coming into the country and to make sure that criminals, terrorists, be it local or International don’t pass through this posts.
READ ALSO: Innoson Motors to Take Over GTBank
“We control movement of people through presentation of their documents. You must present your travelling document, either International passport or ECOWAS travelling certificate. Through this way, we know if you don’t have passport, we explain to you the need to have it before you could travel out of the country. Many people don’t know they need passport to go to Ghana or Benin Republic. ECOWAS Protocol requires that you go to neighbouring countries with travelling documents.
“One of our cardinal objective is to attract direct form of investment into the country that would create job opportunities, because, we are the first contact of anybody coming into the country and with that, our relationship with such a person, either a man or woman is established.”
He however warned that anyone who contravenes the Immigration Act of 2015 would be prosecuted accordingly and if found guilty, would face the consequences, adding that mutilation or certificate forgery attracts two to 10 years imprisonment
On multiple checkpoints along Badagry-Seme Border road, he made it clear that the Comptroller of Immigration Service (NIS ), Mohammed Babandede, had directed that no immigration checkpoints should be mounted on the road, describing any found as illegal.
Asogwa further disclosed that there are only two recognised checkpoints along Badagry road, which included Agbara and Igbaji as well as border patrol officers who stop vehicles intermittently for checks.
