FG asked to probe ‘brown card racketeering’ against foreigners

The Save the Soul Transparency and Eagle Eyes International Foundation (SSTEIF) has urged the Federal Government, through the National Security Adviser (NSA), to save the country from embarrassment over the introduction of a brown card to foreigners, which is now being used to extort money from foreigners.

SSTEIF Chief Research Analyst, Mr. George Davidson, who stated this while addressing reporters Friday in Abuja, said some unscrupulous agents had started reaching out to the expatriates through their database, demanding for a whopping sum of $5,000 to get them Nigerian permanent residency and citizenship.

He urged the NSA and other security agencies to investigate the matter to protect unsuspecting publics from falling prey and to also protect the reputation of the country.

“Information at our disposal revealed that a company, not disclosed to the public, has been awarded the contract. The plan to introduce a brown card to foreigners is nothing but an attempt to exploit and extort money from them,” Davidson said.

• Noodles made in Nigeria safe for consumption – NAFDAC
• Burna Boy becomes 1st African artiste with one billion plays on Audiomack

He also said the card is designed to be adequately handled by the Nigeria Immigration Service through its technical partners and that it should be strengthened to curb loopholes rather than to deploy scarce resources to create avenues for exploitation and corruption and above all security threats in the country.

He said: “It is our belief that this plan will create multiple channels of granting permanent residency status to foreigners in Nigeria, which will further worsen the fragile security situation and safety of the nation against foreign nationals who may come into the country with ulterior motives that undermine the security system of the country.”

He further said not only did the Ministry of Interior give the contract to an undisclosed company, there was also no operational manual stating how the process will be conducted.

“Yet, some unscrupulous agents have started extorting and exploiting foreign nationals under the guise of a brown card. We believe that the whole process was deliberately shrouded in secrecy in order to get monetary gain without the public being aware of anything,” he said.