The Federal Government has announced its readiness to introduce the Single Travel Emergency Passport (STEP), a new temporary travel document set to replace the existing Emergency Travel Certificate (ETC) for Nigerians overseas.
Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Kemi Nanna Nandap, disclosed the development at the Joint Thematic Meeting of the Khartoum, Rabat, and Niamey Processes, which Nigeria co-hosted with the Government of France in Abuja.
According to Service spokesman ACI Akinsola Akinlabi, the immigration boss explained that “the forthcoming Single Travel Emergency Passport (STEP) will serve as a temporary travel document for Nigerians abroad whose passports are expired, lost, or stolen, enabling them to return home in a secure and verifiable manner.”
The initiative is a part of the NIS’s ongoing reforms aimed at strengthening identity management and border governance frameworks in line with global best practices. The STEP document will be issued at designated Nigerian embassies and consulates abroad and will be valid only for a single entry back to Nigeria, reinforcing the Service’s commitment to efficient service delivery and robust identity protection.
The high-level meeting convened critical stakeholders in migration management from Nigeria and abroad, including representatives from ECOWAS, the African Union (AU), and the European Union (EU).
The forum sought to reinforce coordinated prevention, protection, and prosecution responses to migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons across African and European migration routes. It underscored the importance of collective action in addressing the root causes of irregular migration and dismantling transnational criminal networks.
Delivering her keynote address, titled “Insights on Prevention and Protection as Strategic Pillars to Effective Law Enforcement and Prosecution Responses: The Nigeria Immigration Service Perspective,” the Comptroller General highlighted the NIS’s comprehensive reform agenda.
This agenda focuses on combating smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons through enhanced border governance, improved migration management systems, capacity building, and strengthened international collaboration.
Comptroller General Nandap reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to regional and global migration dialogues, emphasizing that the NIS will continue to align its policies and operations with international standards to ensure safe, orderly, and regular migration across borders.