The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has decried alleged evasion of normal immigration clearance procedures by some passengers arriving the country from foreign trips.
The acting Public Relations Officer of the agency, Mr Amos Okpu, said this in a statement on behalf of the Comptroller General of Immigration, Mr Muhammad Babandede, in Abuja on Friday.
Okpu stated that the breaches occurred mostly at the country’s international airports.
According to him, avoiding immigration clearance is against airport/border security and decency.
He said the act was also a “flagrant violation of the provisions of Section 15 (1-3) of the Immigration Act, 2015”.
“The section, among other things, requires all passengers arriving or departing the country to “report” to an immigration officer for examination.
“In view of the above, all passengers including citizens of Nigeria departing or arriving by land, sea or air are required to comply with the following:
“Pass through a recognised point of entry/exit and subject themselves to immigration officers for clearance,
“Travel with valid passport or ECOWAS Travel Certificate if they are citizens of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States).
“Except for ECOWAS citizens, be in possession of a valid visa for entering Nigeria or visa for the country of destination.”(NAN)