Scores of foreigners on the watch list of Nigeria’s security agencies have been arrested and handed over to Interpol.

Their arrests were made possible by the integration of Nigeria’s Advanced Passenger Information System Solutions into Interpol solutions.

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo  (SAN) and his Interior counterpart,  Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo made this known at a joint meeting in Abuja yesterday.

Keyamo and Tunji-Ojo, who did not give the number of the arrested foreigners, said there are ongoing collaborations and cooperation between the two ministries and key agencies like the Nigeria Immigration Service  (NIS)   Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to ensure seamless movements of passengers in and out of the country.

The Interior minister  said: “In the last couple of weeks, so many people on the Interpol red list have been arrested in Nigeria at the point of entry via the Advanced Passenger Information System solution.

“These people, before the advent of this administration, would have found their way into Nigeria but because we decided to work together in the interest of the renewed hope agenda of Mr. President(Bola Ahmed Tinubu), today those guys have been arrested and handed over to Interpol.

‘’This is what we can achieve as a people when we collaborate and we decide to work in the interest of Nigeria.”

 Tunji-Ojo explained that part of the collaboration initiatives was the launch of e-Visa solutions aimed at removing all forms of bottlenecks encountered by travellers without compromising national security.

He said: “Today is another example of that kind of cooperation and collaboration, and this has to do with the introduction of the e-visa.

“This initiative has a very serious effect on our national security architecture. Before now, we’ve always had the exit and landing card manually, travellers had to fill out a paper form. But now the narrative has changed with the introduction of e-visa and automated exit and entry cards.’’

The minister added that automatic visa processing in Nigeria’s High Commissions and Embassies would begin on May 1.

His words: “Nigeria is a country of 230 million brilliant people and we have to lead in terms of technology and in view of that, we are automating the visa process and it takes effect from the 1st of May, 2025.

“So the landing and exit card will be filled online before you board and presented to airlines before you can be boarded. So the responsibility of coordinating and issuing regulations to the airline lies on the NCAA.

‘’This shows our commitment to the protection of our country, to border security, and to ensure that our sovereignty as a nation is well respected.

“Outside that, we will also be introducing some other measures to explain more explicitly. The e-Visa will make it easier for people to come into Nigeria while enhancing the security of our country.

 “The applications will be online. There is a centralised visa approval centre already at Immigration headquarters. Officers have been trained, well equipped, and solutions integrated into all criminal record systems in the world, the major ones in the world as well as Interpol. And of course, there will be better background checks in terms of people coming into Nigeria.

“We are also looking at removing bottlenecks and also making sure people can get visas to Nigeria without lobbying anybody to come into Nigeria. We want to open our borders without compromising national security for people to come and explore the beauty of the land called Nigeria.

“  Landing and exit cards are free. Nobody is paying for that. It’s just for our security and record management solution.”

On the amnesty period for people who may have visa issues, he said: “The programme starts on the 1st of May 2025, and we decided that there will be a three-month amnesty period for full enforcement. Implementation starts on the 1st of May but there will be amnesty so that all foreigners that have overstayed or people in breach of immigration laws can actually come out for regularisation and for them to present themselves at the immigration offices to be able to regularise.”

Keyamo, on his part, said: “What we are doing here today(yesterday) is a further testament to the determination of this government to foster cooperation between key ministries that have mandates that overlap.’’