Seychelles’ decision to close its ports of entry to Nigerian passport holders has stirred criticism, prompting the country’s Vice President Ahmed Afif to offer an explanation on why the tourist island made the decision.
The East African country announced it is tightening immigration policies for Nigerians, citing drug trafficking and cyberfraud as reasons.
Afif told reporters on Thursday that the travel restriction does not include Nigerians with diplomatic passports and active work or residency licenses issued by the island nation, according to NAN.
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“For the others, the government will keep its eyes open and SEBS (Seychelles Electronic Border System) will analyze much more to find out what reasons they are coming, for example someone who is coming for a holiday for only one day. We have to ask questions because it is strange and we have seen that happening,” Afif said.
The matter was brought to light last Saturday, after a Twitter user shared a purported visa rejection by Seychelles, on the ground that the applicant is a Nigerian.
“We regret to inform you that your application has been denied, as per immigration regulation, for now, we are not accepting any Nigerian passport holder for holiday purposes,” a screenshot shared by the Twitter users reads.
In his explanation, Afif said that the decision was taken to stop the influx of Nigerians coming to the Island to commit fraud and carry out drug deals. He said that there were many instances where many Nigerians said they were coming for holidays but only for one or two days.
“When we checked the payments made for them to come to Seychelles, it is from only one source. This is for different people coming on different days which shows an organized syndicate,” he said.
The Vice President added that in recent months, particularly, the administration has seen a tendency that has been deemed as dangerous for border control and the economy, due to criminal activities happening in the country.
“We have seen a clear link between this with certain people from Nigeria. In the past two weeks, for example, 13 people coming from Nigeria have been arrested when entering Seychelles because they were carrying drugs into the country,” he said.
With the rising number of arrests and convictions recorded, Seychelles is trying to figure out how to hand over to the appropriate Nigerian authorities any Nigerians who have been convicted there.
Afif said the situation is putting businesses in the country at risk, and cannot be allowed to continue.
“In one case, 62 Nigerians who said they were on holiday used false credit cards, and the money was never credited to the accounts of these establishments. These establishments have lost money. These people spent free holidays in the country at the expense of the establishment owners and there is nothing that can be done for them.
“There are other online scams originating from Nigeria. We have seen that these people are also coming to Seychelles and doing those scams. We do not have a problem with Nigeria or its people though we do not tolerate such criminal activities in our country,” he said.
Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, off East Africa, with booming tourist centers that have become a go-to place for pleasure-seeking travelers from around the globe. Placing a ban on Nigerian tourists raised dust about the island’s diplomatic relationship with Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy.
Speaking on how the immigration policy targeting Nigerians was revealed, Afif acknowledged that there is a communication gap, but noted: “It should be noted that the information that was circulated was not official, coming from a system, and it was done in a non-coordinated manner.”
He also spoke on the steps Seychelles is taking to address the situation. Afif said Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Sylvestre Radegonde, will be meeting with the Nigerian ambassador for Seychelles to discuss the matter.
How to handle Nigerians caught in cyberfraud or drug trafficking on the island is understood to be among the issues to be discussed.