The Nigeria Immigration Service, Edo State Command is fully set to launch the e-migrants registration scheme as part of efforts to check insecurity in the state and the country at large.
The State Comptroller of the Service, Mr. Ralph Kayode Eniolorunda made this known in an interview with Voice of Nigeria at the Nigeria Immigration Service head office in Benin City, the capital of Edo State, South-South, Nigeria.
The immigration boss observed that President Muhammadu Buhari had already launched the pilot-scheme in Abuja, stating that all migrants in Nigeria both regular and irregular would be registered under the program provided that they intend to stay for more than ninety days.
According to Mr. Eniolorunda, the registration would help the government to know the migrants and be able to monitor them.
‘‘ E-Migrant registration is known as Nigeria Immigration Service Institutional response mechanism. The registration is to address security challenges in Nigeria like insurgencies and other crimes. We intend to have a comprehensive data of all migrants in the country to be documented, to serve for accessibility and means as a recall and retriever by all security agencies at any time’’.
Mr. Ralph Kayode Eniolorunda, also stated that the registration is for migrants that are from 18 years and above, ‘’ the migrants that are liable for registration, are those people that have attained the age of 18 years and above’’.
He went further to explain the period that foreigners can come into Nigeria to stay without registration but when the period elapses, the foreigners have to register, ‘’If you come into the country and want to stay for three weeks or thereabout, you need not register but when you want to stay more than 90 days, you are entitled to register’’.
‘’The registration is not for only ECOWAS citizens but for all foreigners across the globe, such as Africa, Europe, and America citizens among others, they supposed to register if they are staying more than 90 days’’. Mr. Ralph Kayode Eniolorunda, added.
The Comptroller of Nigeria Immigration Service in Edo State pointed out the sanctions that would befall migrants that will not comply to the rules, ‘’ the President has given six months amnesty to foreigners who are residing in the country. Foreigners must register within these six months. After six months of grace, The Nigeria Immigration Service will start monitoring and go around to see those foreigners who have not comply and lock them up’’.
The Comptroller said that some states in Nigeria have started the E-Migrants registration in their states but Edo State will commence soon as all facilities are on the ground for the scheme.
Mr. Ralph Kayode Eniolorunda, also stated that the Edo State Immigration Service has a partnership with other related organizations to reduce human trafficking in the state, ‘’we have a partnership with Edo State Task Force on Human Trafficking, and other stakeholders outside the country such as Netherland, among others’’.
Mr. Ralph Kayode Eniolorunda, also advised Nigeria youth who want to travel out of the country for greener pasture, not to migrate through illegal means, ‘’ My advice to Nigeria youths is that, if they want to migrate, they should do it legally. They should have knowledge of where they are going to.
They should also apply for visa in order for them not to have any problem. Middlemen and agents are not the best people to meet when you intend to migrate. You may fall into a wrong hand, even crossing the Mediterranean sea to migrate is also a problem.
Source: VON
