Immigration, DSS target ‘protest sponsors’, freeze accounts

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and the Department of State Services (DSS) have announced that they have placed alleged sponsors of the #EndBadGovernance protest on a watchlist and frozen their bank accounts.

The individuals identified as sponsors are believed to be residing abroad.

The #EndBadGovernance protests, which have erupted across Nigeria in response to severe economic hardship, have seen escalating violence in some northern states, including looting and vandalism.

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During a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, Kemi Nandap, NIS Comptroller-General, confirmed that these sponsors would be arrested if they attempted to enter Nigeria.

“We have diaspora sponsors on our watchlist,” Nandap stated. “If they try to come into the country, we will be notified, and they will be apprehended and handed over to the appropriate authorities.”

Peter Afunanya, spokesperson for the DSS, added that the agency has also blocked the bank accounts of the alleged sponsors.

 Afunanya revealed that some of these individuals are already in DSS custody, as part of ongoing efforts to control the situation and prevent further escalation of the protests.