Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Assistant Comptroller General, ACG Titilayo Olaiya, has said that Nigeria’s own sensitisation efforts on the recently rolled out Ecowas National Biometric Identity Card ENBIC is crucial and highly necessary because its implementation involves not only immigration officers but also the various stakeholders who interact with travellers at border points.
‘The Card Has Passed Through Different Tests’
Addressing concerns about the security and reliability of the biometric document, Olaiya said the card had undergone testing during the development and implementation process.
She recalled a presentation at the media programme in which an ECOWAS Commission representative explained that the card had undergone different tests, including testing through immigration passport gates in Lagos and Abuja.
According to her, the successful testing demonstrated that the biometric card could work with existing verification infrastructure.
“It was tested in international passports here in Lagos and in Abuja. It was tested and it passed through the gates. So, it’s secure,” she said.
The ENBIC is designed as a machine-readable biometric travel document that enables electronic verification of a traveller’s identity. Recent reports from the sensitisation programme said the system is intended to strengthen identity verification and facilitate legitimate movement while maintaining border-management controls.
ENBIC Application Is Online
Olaiya explained that Nigerians seeking to obtain the ECOWAS National Biometric Identity Card are expected to begin the process online.
She directed prospective applicants to the NIS ENBIC platform:
enbic.immigration.gov.ng
DASCENARIO reports that according to the ACG, applicants must have a National Identification Number (NIN) before applying for the biometric card.
She said applicants could initiate the process online before completing the required physical biometric procedures.
The NIS portal has also been reported to provide services including appointment booking, application tracking, payment-status and receipt checks, correction of application information and other related services.
Olaiya Says Card Costs ₦35,500
On the cost of obtaining the document, Olaiya told journalists that the total cost of the ENBIC was ₦35,500.
She also said the card could be obtained through NIS commands across the country.
“You can get it in any of our commands — all the state commands and headquarters,” she said.
However, prospective applicants should confirm the prevailing official fee on the NIS platform before payment, as published reports and service information have cited different figures during the current rollout.
‘You Don’t Need International Passport to Travel Within ECOWAS With ENBIC’
One of the major clarifications made by Olaiya concerned the relationship between the ENBIC and Nigeria’s conventional international passport.
Responding to a question from journalists on whether an applicant must first possess an international passport before obtaining the biometric card, she responded:
“No, no, no.”
She subsequently explained that the ENBIC was specifically designed to facilitate regional movement within the ECOWAS area.
According to her, a Nigerian travelling to another ECOWAS member state with a valid ENBIC would not need to rely on the regular Nigerian international passport for such regional travel.
“You don’t have to make use of your regular passport to travel to any of the ECOWAS countries,” she explained.
Olaiya, however, distinguished the ENBIC from the conventional international passport, noting that the regular passport remains the appropriate travel document for destinations outside the ECOWAS region, subject to the visa requirements of the destination country.
“But the regular passport, you can use it to go to anywhere where you have your visa,” she said.
ENBIC Supports Regional Movement
Olaiya said the distinction between the two documents is important because the ENBIC was developed specifically for movement within the ECOWAS region.
“This ENBIC we are talking about is made for regional movements across the ECOWAS states,” she said.
She added that, under the regional framework, the biometric card enables eligible travellers to move within ECOWAS member states without obtaining visas for such regional travel.
Independent reporting from the sensitisation programme similarly described ENBIC as a regional identity and travel document intended to facilitate legitimate movement across ECOWAS member states while strengthening identity verification and border management.
NIS Seeks Cooperation From Airlines, Transport Operators
The planned wider sensitisation campaign reflects the NIS’s recognition that successful implementation of ENBIC will depend on the cooperation of organisations and individuals who interact directly with travellers.
Olaiya specifically mentioned airlines and road transport employers among stakeholders who need to understand the new document.
The NIS also intends to sensitise personnel at entry points so that officers understand how the biometric card should be handled and verified.
The approach is consistent with the broader objective of the Lagos workshop, which brought together NIS, ECOWAS, IOM, development partners, transport-sector representatives and journalists to improve public understanding of the initiative.
Focus on Border Communities and Market Women
Olaiya’s emphasis on grassroots awareness is particularly significant because cross-border movement is an important part of economic activity in many West African communities.
She said the NIS would take its sensitisation efforts to border communities and markets, where traders and other members of the informal economy frequently interact with regional mobility systems.
The objective, she explained, is to ensure that the people who ultimately use the document understand how it works and what it is designed to achieve.
Media Asked to Help Fight Misinformation
The NIS official also underscored the importance of the media in ensuring that accurate information about ENBIC reaches the public.
At the Lagos sensitisation workshop, NIS and ECOWAS officials repeatedly stressed that misinformation about the card, eligibility requirements and border procedures could create difficulties for travellers.
Olaiya’s interview therefore reinforced the central message of the programme: successful implementation of ENBIC will require not only technology and institutional preparedness but also informed travellers, transport operators, immigration officers and border communities.
Nigeria’s ENBIC Rollout
Nigeria commenced its ENBIC rollout through the Nigeria Immigration Service in November 2025. Recent reports say the country is among seven ECOWAS member states that have deployed the biometric identity card.
ECOWAS is working towards mutual acceptance of the biometric card at air, land and sea borders by December 2026, according to the regional bloc’s migration and border-management commitments.
For Nigeria, the next phase will therefore involve not only issuing the cards but ensuring that immigration officers, transport operators, airlines, border communities and ordinary travellers understand how the system works.
As Olaiya put it, the objective is to “carry everybody along” — from government officials and private-sector operators to market women and communities along Nigeria’s borders.
