The Civil Liberties Organisation has raised the alarm over alleged non-payment of salaries and allowances owed to Nigerian Immigration Service personnel serving at foreign missions, with some officers reportedly being owed for up to 15 months.
The organisation also alleged that some immigration attachés appointed to foreign missions had been left stranded for months, while postings were allegedly withdrawn and reallocated to officers favoured by senior officials.
Executive Director of the CLO, Steve Aluko, disclosed this while speaking with journalists, saying the organisation intervened after receiving complaints from affected immigration personnel over prolonged delays in deployment and unpaid entitlements.
Aluko alleged that some officers posted more than two years ago were yet to proceed to their designated foreign missions, while existing attachés were uncertain about their future.
He further claimed that officers deployed in 2023 were facing possible recall despite being owed more than 14 months in outstanding allowances.
According to him, the development was unfair, particularly where officers had already incurred financial obligations in their countries of posting.
“Many of the new attachés have been left hanging, while others have had their postings withdrawn and reallocated to close allies of those at the top,” Aluko alleged.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.”
The CLO boss said some immigration officers had not received regular payments since 2024, leaving them struggling to meet basic financial obligations, including house rents, school fees, medical bills and payments to service providers.
He argued that recalling the affected personnel without first clearing their outstanding entitlements would compound their financial difficulties.
Aluko said the CLO was not opposed to the completion of officers’ statutory tours of duty, stressing that the government should settle their legitimate entitlements before asking them to return home.
“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,” he said.
The organisation also alleged that some officers who had completed their statutory tours were being considered for fresh foreign postings, a development Aluko described as a breach of due process.
He called for investigations into the alleged irregularities and urged relevant government authorities to ensure transparency in the deployment of immigration personnel to foreign missions.
Aluko appealed to the Federal Ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs and Finance, the National Security Adviser, the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Chief of Staff to the President to intervene.
He warned that the CLO could escalate the matter to the National Assembly and organise a protest if the alleged salary and deployment issues were not urgently resolved.
The organisation also commended the affected officers for maintaining professionalism despite the alleged financial hardship.
Aluko said the role of immigration attachés went beyond routine administrative duties, noting that they facilitate international engagements and provide passport services to Nigerians living abroad.
He said their presence abroad also saved Nigerians the expense and inconvenience of returning to the country to obtain passports and other immigration-related services.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Immigration Service described the controversy as an administrative matter and assured affected personnel that their outstanding entitlements would be paid.
The NIS spokesperson, Akinsola Akinlabi, said the affected officers had already been mobilised for deployment and urged them and other stakeholders to remain calm.
Akinlabi stressed that personnel were entitled to payment for services rendered, adding that the outstanding entitlements would be addressed before affected officers were recalled from their foreign missions.
He also underscored the strategic role of immigration personnel in national security, including their contribution to counter-terrorism efforts.
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