The Edo Command of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) said it issued 6,097 international passports to applicants in the first quarter of 2019.
The Comptroller of NIS in the state, Mr Kayode Eniolorunda, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin on Saturday.
Eniolorunda added that the command also issued 275 ECOWAS Travel Certificates and 12 Combined Expatriate Resident Permit and Alien Card (CERPAC) within the period.
According to the comptroller, the command recorded one Regularisation of Stay and Regularisation of Migration with four arrivals and four departures in the quarter.
He told NAN that the command had continued to witness tremendous growth and improvement in its responsibilities with direct bearing on the citizens of the state.
He stated that at the moment, it takes only 48 hours to process and produce international passports.
According to him, this has led to a significant improvement in passport application.
Eniolorunda added that the fight against Human Trafficking and Smuggling of Migrants (SoM) had excelled due to the effective collaboration of the command’s irregular migration section and other stakeholders.
He said that the command had observed the presence of unskilled artisans in some strategic areas within the state capital, especially around the various by-passes leading in and out of the state capital.
He explained that the command was currently working closely with the Edo Government to redress the situation before it became a menace. (NAN)
