The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) recently held a valedictory session in Abuja to honour four senior officers who retired after 35 years of service. The retirees are Deputy Comptroller-General, Planning, Research and Statistics, D.M. Bagari; Deputy Comptroller-General, ICT and Cybersecurity, A. Obianime; Deputy Comptroller-General, Border Management, A.R. Sabo; and Assistant Comptroller-General, Migration Directorate, A.M. Halliday.
At the event, the Comptroller-General of Immigration, K.N. Nandap, commended the officers for their leadership, dedication and contributions to the growth and transformation of the Service. The event was attended by senior management officials, serving officers, family members, friends and well-wishers who celebrated the retirees’ careers and legacies.
Meanwhile, the NIS has rejected reports suggesting that it issued Passport No. B51450551 to Godwin-Isaac while she was standing trial or in defiance of a Federal High Court order. According to the NIS, the disputed passport was issued on February 15, 2025, approximately four months before Godwin-Isaac was arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja on June 18, 2025.
The NIS stated that its records showed that Godwin-Isaac had previously been issued Passport No. B00485650 on August 13, 2021, and subsequently applied for reissuance on February 5, 2025. The Service said the earlier passport was cancelled after the new one was issued.
According to the NIS, there was no court order, watchlist instruction or other formal restriction communicated to it as at February 15, 2025, preventing the issuance of the new passport or restricting her international travel. The clarification comes after allegations surrounding how Godwin-Isaac obtained the second passport while her earlier passport was reportedly in the custody of the court.
The Interior Minister, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, had earlier directed an investigation into the matter following complaints by lawyers representing a complainant in her ongoing case. The NIS maintained that any subsequent court order requiring the deposit of the passport was made after the disputed passport had already been issued.
The NIS said it remained committed to accountability, the rule of law and the integrity of Nigeria’s passport and border-management systems, adding that it would cooperate with any lawful investigation and make relevant records available to competent authorities.
Key points
- The Nigeria Immigration Service honoured four senior officers who retired after 35 years of service.
- The NIS clarified that it issued a passport to Godwin-Isaac before she was arraigned in court, but there was no court order restricting her international travel at the time.
- The Service remains committed to accountability and the rule of law regarding Nigeria’s passport and border-management systems.
