NIS Bypasses Procurement Laws with Millions Paid to Individuals Disguised as Contracts

By Onoja Baba

Fresh data from a document containing contracts awarded by Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) between January to December 2025 has revealed a disturbing pattern, the agency has made numerous large direct payments to individual staff members and officers, often labelled as “training fees”, “flight tickets”, “estacode”, “OPE expenses”, and “sensitization materials”. These transactions, running into tens of millions of naira each, appear to circumvent Nigeria’s strict public procurement rules that require competitive bidding and awards to registered companies rather than individuals.

Between January to December 2025, records show repeated payments to named NIS personnel for activities that should normally be handled through formal contracts with vendors. This practice raises serious questions about transparency, accountability, and potential abuse of public funds.

Key Examples from NIS Payments include; On 24 December 2025, NIS paid Onah Ruth ₦10,121,000 for “flight ticket for participating officers”. On 14 November 2025, the same individual received another ₦8,000,000 described as “flight ticket for the training on ethics, transparency and financial responsibility”.

On the same day in November, Augustine Nyadu Peter was paid ₦7,000,000 for “training fees on ethics, transparency and financial responsibility”, while Abbas Sule received ₦7,100,000 for the identical purpose.

In October 2025, Adedeji O.I. and Abdullahi Jummai Halima each collected ₦5,694,341 for “estacode to escort a deportee to India”.

On 31 December 2025, Aboyeji Adewale Samson was paid ₦10,044,592 for “flight ticket for 18 officers”, and Ogedengbe Olusegun received ₦7,200,000 for “resources organised for zonal coordinators to carry out senior officers promotion examination”.

Other notable individual payments include Haruna A.O. (₦6,900,000 for training fees), Bamaiyi Jamila Laura (₦5,386,662 for OPE expenses), Imaekhai Emmanuel Oshobugie (₦6,850,000 for strategic meeting expenses), and Usman Baffa Nagado (₦7,925,575.53 for repatriation allowance).

Under the Public Procurement Act 2007 (as amended), all procurement of goods, works, and services by government agencies must follow open competitive bidding processes. Section 3 explicitly states that public procurement shall be conducted in a transparent, competitive, and accountable manner. Section 16 requires procurement planning and the use of registered contractors or suppliers for any transaction above the approved thresholds. Direct payments to individuals for what are essentially contractual services (training, supply of materials, flight tickets in bulk, or sensitization) are not permitted unless they are legitimate personal claims such as official estacode for verified travel.

The Financial Regulations of the Federal Government of Nigeria and Treasury Circulars further prohibit routing official contracts through individual staff accounts. Such payments bypass due process, competitive bidding, tax deductions (VAT and WHT), and proper auditing. They also violate the ICPC Act and EFCC Act, which criminalise abuse of office and diversion of public funds.

By paying individuals directly for activities that should be executed by companies (e.g., training fees, bulk flight tickets, sensitization materials), NIS appears to be circumventing the mandatory procurement process. This creates opportunities for unaccounted funds, favouritism, and potential corruption.