Muhammed Babandede, comptroller-general of the Nigeria
Immigration Service (NIS), has warned Nigerians against marrying foreigners in
the attempt to procure resident permits.
Speaking at a meeting with journalists in Abuja on
Wednesday, Babandede said such marriages deprive the federal government of
expected revenue from tax, and constitute a punishable offence according to
law.
He said the warning became necessary because NIS had noticed
that in 2020, the number of foreigners who got resident permits in Nigeria had
increased.
He added that arrests had been made, which included persons
from China and Egypt.
“Last year, if you look at our annual report, we noticed an
increase in persons who got resident permits because of marriage, which
suggests the possibility of fake marriages to avoid payment for resident
permits and tax is there,” NAN quoted him to have said.
“We are going to be very serious in investigating that and
we have already started.
“I am glad to say that at the moment, we have a Chinese
citizen whom we have arrested, who presented himself as a visa agent. We have
also arrested many Egyptians who have arranged marriages with compromised
officers, who are also facing disciplinary actions.
“So, fake marriage will be thoroughly investigated and we
will have a special unit to investigate marriages, and we will know how to do
it.
“So, we want Nigerians, both male and female, to avoid
contractual marriages, because it is an offence under the Act, and an attempt
to deny paying revenue to government.”
The NIS CG added that renewal of resident permits will,
henceforth, be done upon presenting evidence of valid documents showing tax
payment.
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