{"id":151298,"date":"2025-02-18T15:59:34","date_gmt":"2025-02-18T14:59:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/niger-rejects-ecowas-passport-for-nigerian-travelers-tightens-immigration-rules"},"modified":"2025-02-20T22:40:01","modified_gmt":"2025-02-20T21:40:01","slug":"niger-rejects-ecowas-passport-for-nigerian-travelers-tightens-immigration-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/niger-rejects-ecowas-passport-for-nigerian-travelers-tightens-immigration-rules","title":{"rendered":"Niger rejects ECOWAS passport for Nigerian travelers, tightens immigration rules"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>The Republic of Niger has implemented strict immigration measures, now requiring Nigerians traveling with ECOWAS passports to possess a valid international passport to enter the country. This move follows Niger\u2019s withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a decision made alongside Mali and Burkina Faso.<\/p>\n<p>Despite keeping the border open with Nigeria, Nigerien authorities have tightened immigration controls at key border crossings such as Illela (Nigeria) and Konni (Niger). Cross-border traders and travelers are facing major challenges as border officials no longer accept the ECOWAS passport as a valid travel document.<\/p>\n<p>Alhaji Mansur Abdullah, a regular cross-border trader, expressed his concerns about the new restrictions. He believes this signals a move to phase out the ECOWAS passport as a valid travel document, with many traders being turned away at the border. Abdullah also mentioned reports that a new passport is being issued to replace the ECOWAS passport, causing uncertainty about its impact on trade and business activities.<\/p>\n<p>In Taiwan, a region in Niger, reports indicate that travelers with only ECOWAS passports are being turned back. Sources revealed that border officials insist on a Nigerien national passport for entry, making it difficult for traders and travelers.<\/p>\n<p>Abubakar Isa, a commercial driver on the Illela-Konni route, claimed that Nigerien security officials are exploiting the situation by demanding bribes. Isa alleged that travelers without the new Nigerien passport are being asked to pay between 5,000 to 10,000 CFA before being allowed to proceed. He further claimed that drivers and travelers are being taken to an office for pressure and bribery if they don\u2019t have the required passport.<\/p>\n<p>Despite these challenges, some traders believe the situation has not yet severely impacted cross-border trade. Alhaji Nuhu Abubakar, a trader in Illela, reported that their activities continue as usual, with no signs of a full border closure. He did, however, mention rumors that the Nigerien military junta might impose restrictions on motorcycle movement between the two countries, though nothing concrete has been confirmed.<\/p>\n<p>While Niger has not officially banned the ECOWAS passport, travelers remain anxious that the situation could worsen, potentially disrupting cross-border trade and movement.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Nigeria<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. The Republic of Niger has implemented strict immigration measures, now requiring Nigerians traveling with ECOWAS passports to possess a valid international passport to enter the country. This move follows Niger\u2019s withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a decision made alongside Mali and Burkina Faso. Despite keeping the border [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":151297,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,30],"tags":[847,1631,254],"class_list":["post-151298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-ecowas","tag-niger-republic","tag-nigeria"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Niger rejects ECOWAS passport for Nigerian travelers, tightens immigration rules - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Republic of Niger has implemented strict immigration measures, now requiring Nigerians traveling with ECOWAS passpor ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/niger-rejects-ecowas-passport-for-nigerian-travelers-tightens-immigration-rules\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Niger rejects ECOWAS passport for Nigerian travelers, tightens immigration rules\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Republic of Niger has implemented strict immigration measures, now requiring Nigerians traveling with ECOWAS passpor ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/niger-rejects-ecowas-passport-for-nigerian-travelers-tightens-immigration-rules\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-18T14:59:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-02-20T21:40:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/02\/sm_1739881928.237714.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/niger-rejects-ecowas-passport-for-nigerian-travelers-tightens-immigration-rules#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/niger-rejects-ecowas-passport-for-nigerian-travelers-tightens-immigration-rules\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Niger rejects ECOWAS passport for Nigerian travelers, tightens immigration rules\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-18T14:59:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-20T21:40:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/niger-rejects-ecowas-passport-for-nigerian-travelers-tightens-immigration-rules\"},\"wordCount\":375,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/niger-rejects-ecowas-passport-for-nigerian-travelers-tightens-immigration-rules#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/02\/sm_1739881928.237714.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"ECOWAS\",\"niger republic\",\"Nigeria\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/niger-rejects-ecowas-passport-for-nigerian-travelers-tightens-immigration-rules#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/niger-rejects-ecowas-passport-for-nigerian-travelers-tightens-immigration-rules\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/niger-rejects-ecowas-passport-for-nigerian-travelers-tightens-immigration-rules\",\"name\":\"Niger rejects ECOWAS passport for Nigerian travelers, tightens immigration rules - 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