… Launches ‘Operation Eagle Eye’ against Non-Compliance
By Amos Odhe
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Rivers Command, has domesticated the quick clearance of passport backlog, assuring that the Minister of Interior’s directive “will be strickly adhered.”
According to our correspondent, the directive by the Acting Comptroller General, Caroline Wuraola Adepoju, “with clarification on sensitive cases bothering on need to investigate and clear professionally, cases related to suspicion of identity theft, complete change of data and names, date of birth,” further prompted the Rivers State Command to announce the launch of Operation Eagle Eye “to ensure complaince by its personel with attendant sanctions and disciplinary measures for defaulters or saboteurs.”
The Comptroller of Immigration Service, Rivers State Command, Sunday James, in a statement issued via electronic mail, noted that following the directives of the Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, and the Acting Comptroller General of Immigration Service, Caroline Wuraola Adepoju, on compliance with the order, the Rivers Command has embarked on the handling of sensitive cases that demand verification due to need for prompt address.
According to him, “the command has intensified monitoring activities, headed by the comptroller, to ensure maximum and full compliance.
“The two weeks mandate is being adhered to strictly and most applications without issues have enjoyed less number of days. But those with critical and questionable reasons are being treated with discreet and intelligence to verify why a sudden change of data or information, particularly those suspected to be an identity change, identity theft, intentional act of misleading and cover up”
He also said that those with change of date of birth and complete change of names and related critical cases are treated specially with reference to the headquarters for approval to avoid allowing criminal minded individuals take advantage of the window to abuse the issuance and put the service in disrepute.
On the launch of the Operation Eagle Eye, Comptroller Sunday James pointed out that the operation by the command is to fish out such cases and to monitor non compliance or deliberate attempt by clandestine elements to frustrate and truncate the good intentions of the minister and the efforts of the acting comptroller general of Immigration in sanitizing the process and put the service on the path of professionalism and best practices.
Hr warned that no officer will be spared in Rivers if caught. “This warning cuts across the ranks and file, no scapegoat will escape appropriate sanctions, not when it is a directive, everyone must support this laudable move and change, and align.
“Same goes to other service windows, the operation is wholistic, it covers all levels of our operational activities and services, including myself, I use my office as a standard for the officers of the command,” he said.
