Retired NIS officers criticise Nigeria Certified Immigration Agents Scheme

..say scheme is meant for exclusion, frustration, and marginalisation

Nathan Tamarapreye, Yenagoa

Retired officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) have expressed concern over the Nigeria Certified Immigration Agents (NCIA) Scheme established by the Minister of Interior, saying the scheme was designed to reject their contributions to a system they worked to build in their 35 years of service.

According to the retired NIS officers, the scheme has become a mechanism of exclusion, frustration, and marginalisation, particularly for retired professionals who once served the country with honour.

The retired NIS officers under the aegis of the Concerned Retired Immigration Officers Coalition, through Alkali Mamudah, said that the fact that the NIS system was built with their sweat and sacrifice of the retired Immigration Officers, now they are being pushed aside by the Nigeria Certified Immigration Agents (NCIA) Scheme.

According to Alkali Mamudah: “For decades, Nigeria’s borders, international engagements, and migration systems were safeguarded and shaped by dedicated immigration officers, many of whom risked their lives and spent entire careers in service to the nation.

“These men and women worked through military regimes, democratic transitions, terrorism threats, and diplomatic shifts, building a system of order, structure, and institutional integrity.

“Yet today, these same officers find themselves on the outside looking in, as the very system they built begins to reject them.”

The group noted that the introduction of the NCIA framework, an initiative meant to professionalise and streamline immigration consultancy services, is in order, but its intentions are not genuine.

“In principle, it should be a welcome reform. But in reality, it has become a mechanism of exclusion, frustration, and marginalisation, particularly for retired professionals who once served the country with honour.

“Imagine dedicating 35 years to the Nigeria Immigration Service, only to be told upon retirement that you must pay an exorbitant fee just to be allowed to register or to continue contributing to the same system you helped design.

“This is the cruel irony that many retired officers will face. To be recognised as an NCIA agent, an avenue many retirees hoped would provide a dignified post-service engagement, they are required to pay amounts more than their retirement take-home, often unaffordable registration and certification fees.

“These fees are not just financially burdensome; they serve as a filter, effectively excluding seasoned professionals from participating. The beneficiaries, in many cases, are a selected few who lack the training, field experience, or institutional grounding required for such sensitive responsibilities.

“This results in a quiet but deliberate handover of immigration advisory roles to ill-prepared individuals to manage them competently.

“This shift is not merely administrative backwardness but equally dangerous. Immigration is tied to national security, global diplomacy, legal precision, and human rights. Entrusting this space to the untrained poses serious risks. Without proper vetting and expertise, immigration agents may unintentionally facilitate illegal migration, human trafficking, or document fraud.

“Unqualified agents can also misinterpret or mishandle applications, leading to abuse of privileges like residence permits and other facilities. Such errors can erode public trust, strain diplomatic relations, and destabilise Nigeria’s image abroad.

“Worse still, the sidelining of trained officers creates an environment where corruption thrives, as poorly regulated agents exploit applicants desperate to navigate complex procedures.

“What makes this development even more painful is the total disregard for institutional loyalty and sacrifice. Retired officers were not only experts but also guardians. Many served in remote outposts, high-risk borders, and under difficult political conditions.

“Some paid the ultimate price in the line of duty. To turn around and shut them out of the profession they gave their lives to, simply because they cannot afford inflated certification fees, is not fair. It sends a dangerous message that service, no matter how long or loyal, is disposable.

“If allowed to persist, this exclusionary system will have long-term effects on Nigeria’s institutional integrity, mentorship culture, and global reputation. Systems without memory are systems doomed to repeat mistakes.

“Retired officers carry decades of practical wisdom that cannot be taught in any training manual. Removing them from the space deprives young officers of valuable mentorship and deprives the country of stable, experienced hands at a time when migration issues are becoming more complex.

“Also, investors, international partners, and travellers may grow wary of dealing with a country whose immigration framework appears unstable and vulnerable to manipulation.

“There is still time to correct the course. The government, through the Ministry of Interior, can review and reduce NCIA certification fees to accommodate retired professionals with proven service records, prioritise experience over commercial gatekeeping, and create formal pathways for retirees to continue contributing meaningfully.

“Nigeria cannot afford to alienate its most experienced gatekeepers in a world where migration, security, and identity are increasingly complex and contested.

“The sidelining of retired immigration Officers through exorbitant NCIA certification fees is unjust and strategically wrong. A nation that forgets its builders eventually forgets how to build.”