The Federal Government has ended the Visa-on-Arrival policy, saying that Nigeria is not a destination for criminals
The Minister of Interior Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo who made the announcement, said the policy was not effective.
He disclosed that government had noticed a pattern where people avoid travelling into the country directly by air, only to land at neighbouring countries and complete their journeys through land borders.
He described the scenario as unacceptable, saying the Federal Government would unveil a multi-faceted solution by March or April to take care of grey areas on entry into and exit out of the country.
Tunji-Ojo said in place of Visa-on-Arrival, landing and exit cards will be introduced and integrated into the solutions for travelers to complete before arriving in Nigeria.
The Visa-on-Arrival policy was introduced in 2020 as a short-stay visa issued at entry points, but the Minister said the policy failed to meet global standards and best practices as it was not done anywhere in the world.
Tunji-Ojo spoke at the headquarters of the Nigeria Immigration Service, (NIS) on Friday during the closing ceremony of the five-day training and capacity building programmes on Advanced Passenger Information-Passenger Name Record, API/PNR System for NIS officers.
The capacity building for 100 Officers was organised by the Nigeria Immigration Service under the leadership of the Comptroller-General of the Service, Mrs Kemi Nanna Nandap.
Tunji-Ojo said:” The Visa-on-Arrival issue is one of the core policy issues because I always tell people the visa is not just an approval of entry, it is a migration management device.
“It is a security device to manage migration into your country. So the way it is at the moment is very subjective. We are not really too objective and that is why we are automating the whole process end-to-end.
“And the e-visa solution, we are working hard to be able to meet the first of March or peradventure if we are unable, the first of April, we will hit it live.
“We will automate the system. People apply online and we will do what we need to do. That solution will be integrated with the Interpol system, the criminal records system, so that we can be able to take decisions.
“We do not want foreign attachés approving and issuing visas. It is not going to be that any more, we want to be able to screen people. This country cannot be a destination for wanted criminals in the world. Nigeria is not a safe haven for any criminal and it will never be.”
The Minister who said about 60 of the border solutions are being completed in Nigeria various borders, land maritime and air, insisted that the security of the country and her citizens remained sacrosanct under the present administration.
He said: ”Today, we have had, we have sorted the API across all of our five international airports and we are looking at working with you more on the issue of adapting some of these into our land borders because it is also very key.
“Because we realised the pattern, of recent, I think, over the last couple of weeks, that a lot of people would rather fly to neighbouring countries and come into Nigeria through the land borders to evade the API PNR system. So we have seen that pattern.”
Tunji-Ojo assured that when all the e-solutions are deployed it would be linked not only with all security agencies at home but also globally, and especially with interpol so that persons of interests can be arrested at anywhere.
Nandap commended President Bola Tinubu and the Minister for their commitment to the ongoing reforms in the NIS, saying that the reforms have changed the narratives for the better.