Mr. Babandede says surveillance has been placed at the nation’s airports to arrest any unqualified holders of those categories of passports. The post New Comptroller-General of Immigration orders arrest of ex-governors, ministers with diplomatic passports appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.

The Nigerian Immigration Service on Monday directed its personnel across the country to apprehend all former government officials, including governors and ministers, who failed to relinquish their diplomatic passports after leaving office.

Muhammad Babandede, the Service’s new comptroller-general, gave the instruction while briefing senior officials as part of activities marking his official assumption of duties at the agency’s headquarters.

Mr. Babandede said the service had so far retrieved about 158 diplomatic passports and 310 official passports.

“In view of the earlier publication for return of official/diplomatic passports by former political officeholders and retired public servants, it must be noted that charges will be pressed against unauthorised holders of such documents,” Mr. Babandede said. “This is because such persons are no longer in the eligibility list and, therefore, in contradiction of Section 10 of the extant Immigration Act, 2015.”

Mr. Babandede said surveillance had been placed at the nation’s airports to arrest any unqualified holders of those categories of passports.

“I am hereby directing that unauthorised holders of such passports be arrested at the airports and other points of entry/departure. Efforts will be made also to trace such unauthorised holders in their given addresses.”

Similarly, Mr. Babandede promised tougher sanctions against unscrupulous individuals within the NIS, saying they are “heartless officers who are setting up illegal check-points to extort Nigerians.”

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