TheCable

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) says it has seized over 6,000 national identity and voter cards from migrants in 21 border states.

Speaking on Wednesday at a retreat for top management staff of the service in Abuja, Isa Jere, controller general of the NIS, said 3,823 identity cards and 2,393 voter cards unlawfully possessed by migrants were intercepted and confiscated.

He said that the documents were intercepted in Nasarawa, Kebbi, Sokoto, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Kogi, Yobe, Kwara, Taraba, Plateau, Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Zamfara, Jigawa, Edo, Bauchi, Niger, and three other states.

NAN quoted Jere as saying that the cards were seized in ongoing operations to ensure that migrants from neighbouring countries did not participate in the forthcoming elections.

He said the culprits had been arrested and returned to their countries in line with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) protocol on free movement.

Jere warned that stiff sanctions would be meted out to any migrant who attempts to participate in the nation’s electoral process.

He tasked all immigration personnel to regard the forthcoming elections as an opportunity to showcase their border management and intelligence-gathering proficiency.

He said those caught compromising their duties would be treated as saboteurs and dealt with in accordance with the law.

Jere said the 2022 electoral act and the 1999 constitution had placed a legal burden on all stakeholders in the electoral process, especially the NIS.

“This is why we resolved to hold comptrollers responsible for any failure recorded by their men,” he said.