Immigration officers serving at Nigerian foreign missions are facing fresh uncertainty over allegedly unpaid salaries and allowances running into 15 months, as the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) raises the alarm over an alleged plot to recall some of them without settling their outstanding entitlements.
The CLO also alleged that newly appointed immigration attachés have been left stranded for months, with some postings reportedly withdrawn and reallocated, amid claims that officers with connections to senior officials are being favoured for foreign postings.
Speaking with journalists, CLO Executive Director Steve Aluko said the organisation intervened after receiving complaints from immigration officers over what he described as prolonged disruptions in foreign-mission postings and the non-payment of salaries and allowances.
Aluko said officers posted for more than two years were yet to proceed to their respective foreign missions, while existing attachés remained uncertain about their fate.
According to him, there were indications that some attachés could be replaced by other officers allegedly favoured by senior officials.
He further alleged that there was a plan to recall officers posted in 2023 without paying more than 14 months in outstanding allowances, allegedly to make room for preferred personnel.
Aluko also claimed that some officers who had already completed their statutory tour of duty were being considered for fresh postings, describing the alleged practice as unfair and a violation of due process.
“Many of the new attachés have been left hanging, while others have had their postings withdrawn and reallocated to close allies of those at the top,” Aluko alleged.
“This is the highest level of injustice and we won’t allow it. We are therefore requesting an immediate investigation and intervention to ensure due process and fairness before any new postings are effected,” he said.
Regarding the unpaid salaries and allowances, Aluko said officers serving at foreign missions have complained of irregular payments since 2024, resulting in severe financial hardship.
He said the CLO was particularly concerned about reports that some of the officers could be recalled before their outstanding entitlements were paid.
“We are not asking the immigration service to keep the officers on foreign missions because the very first time they were sent on foreign missions, they knew there was a timeline,” he said.
“If the government pays them their money and asks them to come back tomorrow, they will. All we are asking is for government to pay their entitlements before returning them home.”
According to Aluko, some of the affected officers had accumulated debts, including house rents, children’s school fees, hospital bills and payments owed to service providers.
He questioned how the officers could reasonably be expected to return home while still owing substantial debts arising from the prolonged failure to pay their entitlements.
“If the government doesn’t do so, it will bring a great embarrassment to the service and cause a whole lot of issues for foreign missions going forward,” Aluko stated.
He said the affected immigration personnel had continued to demonstrate professionalism despite the alleged financial hardship, adding that the CLO had not heard of reports of widespread misconduct, extortion or financial impropriety involving the officers.
Aluko also highlighted the role of immigration attachés in facilitating international engagements between Nigeria and other countries, as well as processing passports for Nigerians living abroad.
He said the officers also generate substantial revenue for the Federal Government and save Nigerians abroad the cost and inconvenience of travelling back home to obtain passports.
“They are facilitating international engagements between Nigeria and other countries, whether at government, corporate or individual level. They are not supposed to be rewarded in this way,” he said.
The CLO executive director called for urgent intervention by the Federal Ministry of Interior, Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Security Adviser, Accountant-General of the Federation, Federal Ministry of Finance and the Chief of Staff to the President.
He said the organisation wants the government to investigate the allegations and ensure outstanding salaries and allowances are paid before any affected officers are recalled.
Aluko also warned that the CLO would escalate the matter to the National Assembly and organise a protest if the situation is not urgently resolved.
The organisation maintained that its intervention is aimed at protecting the rights of the affected officers and ensuring transparency and fairness in the deployment of immigration personnel to Nigeria’s foreign missions.
But the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), through its spokesperson, Akinsola Akinlabi, described the matter as an administrative issue, assuring that affected personnel have already been mobilised for deployment and that their outstanding entitlements would be paid.
Akinlabi urged the affected officers and other stakeholders to remain calm, stressing that the personnel were entitled to what they had worked for.
He also emphasised the strategic importance of immigration personnel to national security, including their role in counter-terrorism operations.
According to Akinlabi, the outstanding entitlements would be addressed before the affected officers are recalled from their foreign missions.
