The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has said it has seized over 6,000 national identity and voter cards from migrants in 21 border states.
Disclosing this at a retreat for top management staff of the service in Abuja, controller general of the NIS,
Isa Jere, , said 3,823 identity cards and 2,393 voter cards unlawfully possessed by migrants were intercepted and confiscated by its operatives.
He said that the voters card and identity cards were seized in Nasarawa, Kebbi, Sokoto, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Kogi, Yobe, Kwara, Taraba, Plateau, Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Zamfara, Jigawa, Edo, Bauchi, Niger, and three other states.
The News Agency of Nigeria quoted the NIS top.brass as saying that the cards were seized in ongoing operations to ensure that migrants from neighbouring countries did not play any sort of role in the fast approaching general elections.
He stated that the culprits had been arrested and returned to their countries in accordance with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) protocol on free movement.
Jere said the 2022 electoral act and the 1999 constitution had placed a special legal burden on all stakeholders in the electoral process, particularly the NIS.
“This is why we resolved to hold comptrollers responsible for any failure recorded by their men,” said Jere.
