National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says the visa clearance requirement policy is only applicable for eight countries.

The agency was reacting to reports that it introduced a levy as visa clearance requirement for Nigerians travelling outside the country.

In a statement, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA’s director of media and advocacy, said the policy is not new and has been in existence for 24 years.

He added that the requirement is only applicable to people travelling to eight countries, and is part of efforts to address drug trafficking.

“The anti-drug law enforcement agency wishes to state as follows: that the policy was not newly created to impose levies on Nigerians travelling abroad, but has been in existence for over 24 years,” Babafemi said.

“The policy does not apply to all Nigerians seeking to travel overseas but only those travelling to eight countries, usually referred to as source countries.

“The policy is at the behest of the ‘source countries’, and not that of the NDLEA or Nigeria. It’s designed as part of global efforts to fight the menace of drug trafficking.

“The requirements for the visa clearance being mischievously circulated on social media are just a part of a three-page document, which provides other detailed information on the policy.

“Nigerians can rest assured that NDLEA remains committed to its core goal of ridding Nigeria of illicit drugs and will not deviate from its constitutionally assigned duties.”

The agency listed the countries as follows:

• Thailand
• Malaysia
• Indonesia
• India
• Brazil
• Pakistan
• Philippines
• Russia.

The Cable