As tension mounts over Nigeria’s new immigration policies, certified immigration consultants and retired professionals have called for divine intervention amid what they called hijack of core duties and clampdown on trained officers.
In what is being described as both a spiritual and civic outcry, members of the Nigeria Certified Immigration Agents (NCIA) who have strongly criticised Nigeria’s new immigration visa policy are urging fellow professionals and concerned citizens to pray for divine intervention against what they call “an ongoing hijack of immigration duties and the implementation of anti-investment, anti-family, and anti-security policies.”
The call came against the backdrop of recent sweeping changes in Nigeria’s expatriate administration management and visa policy which consultants argue have not only sidelined trained officers but opened the floodgate to faceless private actors operating behind closed doors, while the federal government looks away.
Among the most damning allegations raised by the consultants is that immigration officers, particularly in the visa and residency directorate, are being rendered redundant as their core functions are stealthily transferred to unknown individuals and entities, many allegedly without official capacity or oversight.
A statement obtained by LEADERSHIP Weekend partly reads, “These changes are not reforms. They are a quiet dismantling of our Immigration system.”
A concerned stakeholder who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being penalized, said, “The federal government is not only complicit but actively enabling this erosion of national order and professionalism.”
Stakeholders warn that these actions directly contradict national security objectives, discourage foreign direct investment (FDI), and send dangerous signals to the international community.
Already, the United States has responded by invoking the Principle of Reciprocity, recalibrating its own visa terms for Nigerians in what appears to be a diplomatic response to Nigeria’s increasingly prohibitive policies.
A retired immigration officer who also preferred not to be named, said, “The current direction is sabotaging everything we’ve built-our diplomatic relationships, our economy and even our families. Sadly, the federal government is watching all of this unfold in silence.”
In a joint statement, the NCIA outlined several specific grievances that highlight how deeply the current policy trajectory is undermining national interests which they listed to include; “Massive and unjustified increase in visa and migration service fees that affects not only foreigners but also Nigerians abroad who want to return home.
The statement also highlighted the sidelining of NIS veterans who are being priced out of contributing to the sector through the imposition of “unrealisable registration fees” for certified immigration agents.
The statement partly reads, “We are talking about the discouragement of inter-racial marriages through the controversial Special Immigrant Status (SIS) policy which places prohibitive fees on foreign spouses, specifically targeting non-Nigerian men married to Nigerian women, effectively institutionalising a “national bride price.”
“A general hostility to human mobility, empowerment, and reintegration, particularly by ignoring years of training and experience gathered by retired NIS officers; and perhaps most egregiously, the silent handover of immigration management to unknown private actors, bypassing transparency, accountability, and the institutional structure built over decades.
Others are, “The financial barriers, especially for retired officers wishing to operate as certified consultants, have been described as “deliberately cruel.” Many of us served this country loyally for decades,” one veteran consultant said, “Now, we’re being told we must pay exorbitant fees to participate in a system we helped create.”
NCIA said, “In the face of government inaction, we as stakeholders have turned to faith. We are calling on our members that whatever faith you believe in, go on your knees,” the statement said.
“Ask the creator of the universe to nullify these anti-NIS, anti-FDI and anti-human policies that are now threatening the very foundation of immigration governance in Nigeria.”
They stressed that this is not just about policy but about the soul of Nigeria’s migration system.
They urged authorities to remember that immigration is not only about borders, but about families, investment, opportunity and national integrity.
“This is not a call for attention,” the statement added, “It is a call for national repentance and reform.”
Worried about the development, a top source at the Nigerian Immigration Service who confided in LEADERSHIP Weekend said, “As Nigeria finds itself caught in a growing visa war, and its citizens abroad face increased scrutiny, stricter conditions, and restricted movement, the federal government’s silence is being interpreted not as neutrality, but as betrayal.”
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