FG to replace emergency travel certificate with temporary passports

Federal Government has expressed its readiness to introduce a Single Travel Emergency Passport STEP to replace the existing Emergency Travel Certificate ETC. Comptroller General of the Nigeria  Immigration Service NIS, Kemi Nanna Nandap said this at the Joint Thematic Meeting of the Khartoum, Rabat and Niamey Processes, organized and co-hosted by Nigeria in collaboration with the Government of France. Service spokesman, ACI Akinsola Akinlabi in a statement on Wednesday said the immigration boss explained that “the forthcoming Single Travel Emergency Passport STEP will serve as a temporary travel document for Nigerians abroad whose passports are expired, lost, or stolen, enabling them to return home in a secure and verifiable manner”.

She said that the travel document will be issued at designated Nigerian embassies and consulates abroad and valid only for single entry, reinforcing the Service’s commitment to efficient service delivery and robust identity protection. The initiative, according to the NIS, forms part of its ongoing reforms aimed at strengthening Identity Management and Border Governance frameworks in line with global best practices. The high-level meeting convened critical stakeholders in migration management in Nigeria and abroad including National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internal Displaced Persons NCFRMI, National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and other Related Matters NAPTIP, representatives from ECOWAS, AU, EU, African and European countries. 

“The meeting seeks to reinforce coordinated prevention, protection and prosecution responses to Migrant Smuggling and Trafficking in Persons across African and European migration routes among participating Migration Agencies. Serving as a platform for sharing best practices, aligning legal frameworks, and fostering inter-agency cooperation, the forum underscored the importance of collective and sustained action in addressing the root causes of irregular migration, dismantling transnational criminal networks, with emphasis on the protection of rights of objects migrants smuggling and victims of human trafficking”, the statement added.

Delivering her keynote address titled “Insights on Prevention and Protection as Strategic Pillars to Effective Law Enforcement and Prosecution Responses” the Nigeria Immigration Service Perspective, the Comptroller General highlighted part of the Service’s comprehensive reform agenda which also focuses on combating Smuggling of Migrants and Trafficking in Persons through enhanced Border Governance, improved Migration Management systems, capacity building, and strengthened international collaboration. “The Comptroller General reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to regional and global migration dialogues, emphasizing that the Nigeria Immigration Service will continue to align its policies and operations with international standards to ensure safe, orderly, and regular migration across borders”, Akinlabi added.