Nigeria’s e-Visa Blocks 300+ High-Risk Travellers in First 90 Days

Nigeria’s immigration system is showing its teeth. The Nigeria Immigration Service has revealed that the country’s new e-Visa platform identified and blocked over 300 individuals flagged as high security risks within its first 90 days of operation — the first performance figures released publicly since the system went live.

The numbers, disclosed on April 28, 2026, mark a significant early win for the Federal Government’s push to modernise how Nigeria manages its borders. The e-Visa system works by cross-referencing traveller data against international security databases to detect risk profiles before entry is granted.

More than 300 individuals were denied access to the country under this screening process in just three months — a figure that gives the clearest picture yet of how the system is performing in the field.

Part of a Bigger Digital Shift

The e-Visa rollout is one piece of a wider migration reform programme the government has been pushing since early 2026. The fully electronic visa platform replaced earlier manual and semi-digital processes that were widely criticised for being slow and prone to manipulation.

The automated nature of the new system means that risk assessments happen in real time, drawing on databases maintained by international law enforcement and border agencies. This kind of integration has been a gap in Nigeria’s immigration architecture for years.

What It Means Going Forward

Beyond the security wins, the e-Visa platform is also meant to make legitimate travel more seamless. Business visitors, tourists, and diaspora returnees have long complained about the inefficiency of the old visa system. A fully digital process — with background checks running in the background — speeds up approvals for low-risk travellers while flagging those who should not get through.

The NIS has not detailed the nationalities or profiles of those blocked. With the 90-day mark now passed, attention will shift to whether the system can scale as volumes grow and whether the government deepens integration with more international security networks.

Sources: ThisDay, AllAfrica