The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has witnessed series
of changes since it was extracted from the Nigeria Police
Force (NPF) in 1958. The Immigration Department as it was
known then, was entrusted with the core Immigration duties
under the headship of the Chief Federal Immigration Officer
(CFIO). The department in its embryo inherited the
Immigration Ordinance of 1958 for its operation. At
inception the department had a narrow operational scope and
maintained a low profile and simple approach in attaining
the desired goals and objectives of the government. During
this period, only the Visa and Business Sections were set
up.
On August 1st, 1963, Immigration Department came of age when
it was formally established by an Act of Parliament ( Cap 171,
Laws of the Federation Nigeria ). The head of
the Department then was the Director of Immigration. Thus,
the first set of Immigration officers were former NPF
officers. It became a department under
the control and supervision of the Federal Ministry of
Internal Affairs ( FMIA ) as a Civil Service outfit.
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