News

FG To scrap Visa-on-arrival Policy By April

Published

8 months ago

February 21, 2025

The Federal Government has revealed plans to discontinue its visa-on-arrival policy, describing it as “unsustainable” and a potential security risk.

The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this on Friday at the graduation ceremony of 100 officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service who underwent a five-day specialised training on the application of Advance Passenger Information/Passenger Name Record data in national security and law enforcement at the service headquarters, Abuja.

Explaining the benefits of a data-driven visa system, Tunji-Ojo said, “We believe that it is better for us to make decisions based on objectivity rather than subjectivity.

“Of course, that will lead to the cancellation of the visa-on-arrival process because visa-on-arrival, we understand, is not a system that works.

“I don’t expect you to just come to my country without me knowing you’re coming in. No, it’s never done anywhere.”

According to the minister, Advance Passenger Information systems will be deployed at the land borders.

Also, new regulations would require pre-arrival clearance from Interpol, criminal record systems and other background-check agencies in real-time.

He stated, “We’ve sorted API in five international airports. We’ll now adapt it to land borders because we’ve seen a pattern where people fly out and re-enter through the land borders.

“What we are looking at is that for any decision that borders on immigration into Nigeria, it will be impossible for approvals to be given without the clearance of Interpol, criminal record system and all background checking agencies in real-time. We have to ensure this.”

“When it comes to security,” he explained further, “life will never remember us for the 99 per cent we get right. History will remember us for the 1 per cent we do wrong. And security is not a sector where you can afford to be 99.9 per cent accurate. It just has to be 100 per cent.”

Set to commence between March 1 and April 1, 2025, he said the reforms aim to protect Nigerians and meet international security obligations.

“We must be responsible in the comity of nations,” the minister concluded, vowing to defend “even the weakest Nigerian with our last drop of blood.”

Nigeria’s visa-on-arrival policy was introduced to simplify entry procedures for eligible foreign nationals visiting for business or tourism.

Instead of obtaining visas at Nigerian embassies or consulates before travel, qualified travellers could receive entry approval upon landing, provided they met all documentation and fee requirements.

This approach was designed to encourage investment and boost tourism by reducing bureaucratic hurdles.

However, security experts have warned against potential security lapses, including the difficulty of thoroughly vetting entrants who only submit their documents at the port of entry.

Tunji-Ojo said the aim is to replace the current system by April 1, 2025, with stricter processes that include pre-arrival clearance and more rigorous screening, ensuring better tracking of travellers and safeguarding Nigeria’s borders.

“So we are going to bring these massive reforms, and these reforms start between March 1 and April. What we’re trying to do is to be able to safeguard our people.

“It is for us to be responsible in the comity of nations and to be able to contribute our fair quota to all our foreign international partners,” he stated.

He urged the 100 officers to apply their learning to the best of their ability.

“We have over 10,000 immigration officers. You are part of the privileged 100. It’s an opportunity for you to write your name in gold.

“You are my biggest assets. The Minister of Interior and the Comptroller-General are useless without efficient, capable and competent offices.

“If you sleep and a person of interest enters this country, the target might be your wife, husband, children or even you. Implement it with all patriotism,” Tunji-Ojo added.

For her part, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Kemi Nandap, said the programme originated from discussions held with a delegation of the United Nations Office for Counter-Terrorism during the seventh border Management and Identity Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, from December 11 – 13, 2024.

“Over the past five days, we have successfully trained 100 immigration officers, drawn from the command and control centre and other key units,” she stated, urging them to apply their skills diligently.

Meanwhile, the International Organisation for Migration, Paola Pace, said the end of the five-day training marks the start of a new call for improved service delivery.

She opined, “While this training marks the completion of one phase, it is by no means the end of our work as it lays the foundation for the next and must now be transmitted into sustained action.

“As you return to your respective duties, I encourage you to apply the knowledge gained to enhance Nigeria’s border management, foster intelligence collaboration with effective intelligence sharing, and ensure API aligns with national security priorities while supporting broader migration governance and patents.”

The Programme Management Specialists, Robert Musgrave, a PIU expert, and Dennis Hands, a law enforcement expert, expressed satisfaction with working with the participants.

They emphasised the positive impact of the training on participants regardless of rank or position.

The highlight of the ceremony was the presentation of certificates to the participants by the Minister of Interior.

News

Police Arrests Principal Supplier Of Weapons To Bandits In Delta

Published

1 hour ago

October 25, 2025

Editor

The Special Assignment Team of the Delta state Police Command has arrested a key supplier of weapons to bandit groups in the northern part of Nigeria

The suspect, one Ahmed Ibrahim (31) male, resident of Ekpan in Uvwie local government area, has long been on the command’s watch list for his alleged role in several high-profile kidnapping and armed-robbery operations.

The Commands Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO), Bright Edafe, in a statement disclosed that acting on credible intelligence from the Force Technical Intelligence Unit (TIU), Abuja, operatives of the CP Special Assignment Team (CP-SAT), led by ASP Julius Robinson, arrested a female suspects, one Jamila Abubakar, at Conoil Filling Station, Warri–Patani Road, Effurun.

The statement revealed that upon her arrest, officers discovered the cash sum of ₦550,000 neatly concealed beneath her bag and suspected to be proceeds from illicit transactions.

According to DAILY POST her apprehension provided a crucial lead that set off a well-coordinated follow-up operation.

“Buildin on that intelligence, the operatives stormed Niger-Cat area of Warri, where they successfully arrested a notorious arms peddler, one Ahmed Ibrahim (31) male, resident of Ekpan in Uvwie Local Government Area, at about 0725 hrs on 22nd October 2025.

“A search led to the recovery of a bag containing one hundred and fifteen rounds 115 rounds of 7.63mm AK-47 live ammunition, 220 rounds of SMG rifle ammunition, and 32 live cartridges”.

Edafe further noted, that preliminary investigations revealed that, the suspect is a key supplier of weapons to bandit groups in the north and has long been on the Command’s watch list for his alleged role in several high-profile kidnapping and armed-robbery operations.

According to the statement, Ahmed Ibrahim, is also linked to the kidnap and murder of one Ogheneovo Onemu (female), who was abducted on May 27, 2024 at Edjekota community in Ughelli North LGA, and later murdered after a ransom payment of ₦4,000,000.

Commissioner of Police, Olufemi Abaniwonda, described the breakthrough as another testament to the Command’s unwavering commitment to stemming the flow of illegal arms, dismantling criminal syndicates, and bringing offenders to justice.

The CP urged residents to remain vigilant and continue supporting the Police with timely and credible information to aid the fight against crime, assuring the public that the Command will sustain its momentum against criminal elements and remain resolute in protecting the lives and property of all law-abiding citizens.

News

ABU Makes Clarifications On Alleged Production Of Nuclear Weapons

Published

1 hour ago

October 25, 2025

Editor

Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, has dismissed a viral social media video alleging that the institution was involved in developing nuclear weapons for Nigeria.

The university’s Director of Public Affairs, Auwalu Umar, made this clarifications in a statement issued to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Zaria.

Umar revealed the video is AI-generated and a deliberate attempt to misinform the public about Nigeria’s peaceful nuclear energy programme.

According to him, the video falsely claimed that Nigerian scientists in the 1980s secretly enriched weapons-grade uranium in Kaduna and that ABU researchers obtained centrifuge equipment from the AQ Khan network in Pakistan.

“The claim is baseless, unfounded, and unsubstantiated,” he said.

He explained that during the 1980s, most scientists at ABU’s Centre for Energy Research and Training (CERT) were still undergoing training abroad and therefore could not have been involved in any uranium enrichment activity.

Umar clarified that the university had no connection with the AQ Khan network and had never received any equipment for constructing a centrifuge or nuclear device.

He noted that by 1987, the only nuclear-related facility at the institution was a 14 MeV Neutron Generator, which became operational in 1988.

“Nigeria’s first nuclear reactor, NIRR-1, was established much later in 1996 under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Technical Cooperation Programme and commissioned in 2004,” he explained.

Umar stressed that Nigeria’s nuclear activities had always been open, transparent, and strictly for peaceful purposes in line with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Pelindaba Treaty, which both prohibit the development of nuclear weapons.

He reaffirmed that the Centre for Energy Research and Training, established in 1976, operates in collaboration with the IAEA and international partners from the United States, Russia, and China.

“The centre has never engaged in any secret weapons programme,” Umar emphasised, adding that ABU’s research focus remains on peaceful applications of nuclear science for national development.

News

Obasanjo Holds Memorial Service For Late Wife, Stella, Says She Lived Serving Others

Published

1 hour ago

October 25, 2025

Editor

Twenty years after her passing, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, his family, aides, and acquaintances honoured his late wife and former First Lady, Mrs Stella Obasanjo, at a memorial service.

The memorial service was held on Saturday, at the Chapel of Christ King of Glory, located within the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta Ogun State Capital.

Recall that Mrs Obasanjo passed away on October 23, 2005, at the age of 59, after an unsuccessful elective liposuction treatment and stomach tuck in Spain. The procedure was planned to coincide with her 60th birthday.

During a brief interview following the service, Obasanjo stated, “We are here to celebrate a life of service.”

DAILY POST reports that the event had in attendance Stella’s son Muyiwa, former Ogun State Governors, Gbenga Daniel and Ibikunle Amosun, among other notable dignitaries.

In his testimony during the church service, John Abebe, Stella’s younger brother, testified that the former first lady would be remembered for her contagious smile, which he claimed always warmed people’s hearts.

He said “Sister Stella was somebody you just couldn’t get angry with because she would always smile through everything, every difficulty.”

Similarly her only child, Muyiwa, described her as one who was strict and would never tolerate any nonsense.

“She was caring and protective. As an only child. most people understand that, but also strict and would not tolerate any deviation from you. So, I have kept that in mind, and I have continued to try to live my life that way.”

Speaking with newsmen, Daniel and Amosun praised Stella’s candour, saying she lived an exemplary life .