How NIS Operatives Extort Travellers At Airports

Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and their counterparts in the Nigeria Immigration Services (NIS) have been fingered in the gale of extortions air travellers are subjected to at airports, a Daily Trust investigation has revealed.

Through open-source investigation and the help of social media tracking metrics, Daily Trust identified and contacted victims of airport extortion who shared their experiences.

Extortion of air travellers at airports is a corrupt practice entrenched within the security agencies in many countries, including Nigeria’s airports, of which operatives of the DSS, NIS, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), among others, are being accused.

Some of these security operatives, who are posted at various units to check in, clear, and scrutinize passengers’ passports, visas, luggage, and another cargo shipment, are at the heart of alleged extortion scandals of air travellers; an action, that continues to compromise the ethical guidelines, security and safety standards of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

According to the 2022 Air Transportation Report by the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria recorded 8.7 million domestic and international arrivals and departures through its airports in 2021.

Despite this figure, travellers say corruption is prevalent at the country’s airport, in spite of the government’s threats of sanctions.

In 2021, the federal government threatened to sanction security agencies, including heads of military and paramilitary organizations at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Nigeria’s biggest and one of Africa’s top five busiest airports, over widespread allegations of extortion.

This has not addressed the problem as air travellers who spoke with our correspondent recounted various methods of extortion by security agents.

Ifah Sunday Ele