NIS: E-Visa Blocks Over 300 High-Risk Entrants in First 90 Days

Omolabake Fasogbon

Nigeria’s e-Visa platform identified and blocked over 300 individuals flagged as high security risks within its first three months of implementation, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Dr. Magdalene Adjaye, has revealed.

According to her, the feat is a direct dividend of government reforms for digital border management, noting that deployment of the e-Visa system in September 2025 has provided a technologically fortified shield against advanced criminal techniques.

Adjaye disclosed this at an international roundtable on governance reforms in Nigeria’s immigration and border management sector held in Lagos recently, stressing that with the present system, no one on a watchlist across the globe can enter the country.

The meeting, organised by the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC) and the Nigerian Immigration Service under the theme “Deconstructing the Immigration & Border Management Sector,” gathered stakeholders in the border management space to chart a path forward on security at the country’s entry points.

Adjaye described the e-Visa system as a practical demonstration of the administration’s reform commitment, noting that it has also compressed airport clearance times, with e-gates now processing Nigerian travellers in 40 seconds or less.

Also speaking, Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Mr. Adeola Ajayi, said the integration of immigration data has strengthened preemptive intelligence gathering.

He said, “DSS utilises immigration-generated intelligence fields for early warning, identity verification and migration intelligence. The centralised passenger data has significantly reduced blind spots at entry points.”

Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Kemi Nandap, added that reforms must balance security with economic growth, stressing that borders must block transnational crimes while enabling trade, investment and tourism.

Earlier, the President of the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC), Sheriff Balogun, said that as the Chamber continues to promote trade between the United States and Nigeria, the gathering was necessary to address key constraints faced by its members, including ease of entry and movement across borders, obtaining expatriate quotas, securing permits and related matters.