The Federal Government has announced plans to roll out a Single Travel Emergency Passport (STEP), which will replace the current Emergency Travel Certificate (ETC).
Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Kemi Nanna Nandap, made this known during the Joint Thematic Meeting of the Khartoum, Rabat, and Niamey Processes, co-hosted by Nigeria and France.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Service’s spokesperson, ACI Akinsola Akinlabi, explained that the new STEP document will serve as a temporary travel passport for Nigerians abroad whose passports have expired, been lost, or stolen—allowing them to return home safely and through a verifiable process.
Nandap added that the document will be available at designated Nigerian embassies and consulates overseas and will be valid for a single entry only, reflecting the Service’s drive for efficient service delivery and strong identity protection.
According to the NIS, the initiative is part of ongoing reforms aimed at enhancing identity management and border governance in line with international standards.
The high-level meeting brought together key stakeholders in migration management, including the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), as well as representatives from ECOWAS, the African Union, the European Union, and various African and European nations.
“The meeting seeks to reinforce coordinated prevention, protection and prosecution responses to migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons across African and European migration routes among participating migration agencies.
“Serving as a platform for sharing best practices, aligning legal frameworks, and fostering inter-agency cooperation, the forum underscored the importance of collective and sustained action in addressing the root causes of irregular migration and dismantling transnational criminal networks, with emphasis on the protection of the rights of migrants, objects of smuggling, and victims of human trafficking,” the statement added.
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 part of the Service’s comprehensive reform agenda, which also focuses on combating smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons through enhanced border governance, improved migration management systems, capacity building, and strengthened international collaboration.
“The Comptroller General reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to regional and global migration dialogues, emphasising that the Nigeria Immigration Service will continue to align its policies and operations with international standards to ensure safe, orderly, and regular migration across borders,” Akinlabi added.
