THE Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has vowed to take tough actions against the shooting of an officer of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), allegedly on the order of a Chinese company operating in Nigeria.
The minister, while condemning the incident at a stakeholders’ sensitisation workshop on the implementation of the Nigeria Visa Policy 2025 in Abuja on Thursday, March 27, described the action as an outright “attack on Nigeria.”
He vowed to escalate the incident, which happened in Niger State, at the highest diplomatic level, adding that such action would not be tolerated.
He said, “I will not go to any country, open a company, and say the Immigration Service cannot come out. I will not do that.
“I don’t want to mention the company here, but they shot one of our Immigration officers. They told their security attaché to shoot our officer, and he did— a foreign company?
“That happened a couple of weeks ago in Niger (State), and we are going to take it up with the Chinese embassy because it’s a Chinese company. I won’t go to China as a Nigerian, enter a company, and tell my security to shoot a government official in uniform. It’s never done anywhere in the world. That alone is an attack on Nigeria.”
The officer, he explained, was simply carrying out his duty when he was shot.
“That is a diplomatic issue, and we will handle it. It will not happen again. So we are going to be very firm. We will not disturb your business or overburden your operations.
“But don’t make us inferior in our land. We are going to be very tough on this. I’m not just speaking with passion; I’m speaking with anger.”
Tunji-Ojo further warned that the government would not hesitate to revoke business licences and shut down companies operating with disregard for Nigerian laws.
“No company is above the law. We will not tolerate it. No agent, no company is above the law.
“We are doing our best to make things easier and to collaborate with businesses. But please, we beg you, do not insult us. We will not disrespect you. As long as the president remains in office, nobody will disrespect you in Nigeria. All we ask for is mutual respect,” he stated.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M