Immigration chief tells officers to cut delays, flag cyber threats
- Kemi Nanna Nandap, head of the Nigeria Immigration Service, told officers to stop unnecessary delays and treat customers better.
- She also asked staff to report suspected cyber threats quickly, saying security is everyone's job.
- The directives came at two Abuja events: Customer Service Week and a cybersecurity seminar.
The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Kemi Nanna Nandap, has told officers to stop keeping applicants waiting unnecessarily and to treat people at the counter with respect.
She also asked staff to speak up quickly when they suspect a cyber attack, saying protecting the service's systems is a job for everyone, not just the IT unit.
The service's spokesman, DCI Akinsola Akinlabi, said in a statement that Nandap gave both instructions at two events in Abuja: the 2026 International Customer Service Week, held from Wednesday 28 to Friday 30 October, and the service's 2026 Cybersecurity Awareness Seminar.
Why it matters for travellers
Nigerians who go to immigration offices for passports, visas and other papers often complain about long queues, repeated visits and staff who brush them off. Nandap said customer satisfaction should now count when officers are being assessed, and that complaints should be resolved without dragging.
She spoke of ongoing reforms to improve what the service calls Hostmanship, and urged officers to work with integrity.
The Head of Operations at the SERVICOM unit in the Presidency, Mrs Ngozi Akinbodewa, praised the service for building up its SERVICOM desk. SERVICOM, the Service Compact with all Nigerians, is the presidency unit that checks how well government agencies serve the public.
Akinbodewa said the customer service week was a chance to recognise staff who go beyond what is expected of them.
The Comptroller General's Special Assistant on SERVICOM, DCI A.M. Abubakar, said officers should be accountable, respond to people's complaints and stick to service standards.
Guarding the service's data
At the cybersecurity seminar, Nandap was represented by the Deputy Comptroller General for Finance and Accounts, DCG S.B. Daura. She told officers to follow security rules and report anything suspicious, and called for more training and cooperation with other agencies.
Experts from the Department of State Services (DSS), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) gave talks. They covered protecting critical infrastructure, fighting cybercrime through law enforcement and international cooperation, data protection, and managing human risk at work.
A session led by Galaxy Backbone Limited looked at how agencies can work together to secure key systems.
The service said the seminar showed its commitment to protecting its digital assets and sensitive information, and to supporting its work on border security and migration management.
What happens next: The service has not said how it will measure the new push on delays, or what penalties officers who fail will face.
