NDLEA Deletes Husband Approval Rule For Married Women Seeking Visa Clearance

 

The NDLEA (National Drug Law Enforcement Agency) had a requirement that stated that Nigerian married women must submit a letter of approval from their husbands before being given a visa clearance certificate to travel out of the country.

There was no corresponding requirement for men, and this sparked conversation online about equal rights between women and men.

Why does the NDLEA issue visa clearance certificates?

This requirement is part of a global effort to reduce the incidence of drug

trafficking.

The NDLEA visa clearance certificate provides proof that you have not been convicted of any drug-related offences in Nigeria.

The "source countries," not the NDLEA or Nigeria, are the ones directing the policy and requesting this document.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) published a list of the eight nations to whom it must provide an obligatory visa clearance in 2021.

Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Brazil, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Russia are among the countries.

NDLEA reacts

The official account of the NDLEA has removed this requirement, stating on social media that:

"The entire procedure for visa clearance issued by the NDLEA as required by some countries is currently undergoing review, and the requirements for a married woman to present a letter of approval from her husband to travel are one of the items the agency has since jettisoned as mandatory items on the list.

The inclusion of that item abinitio arose following some ugly developments in some source countries.

Members of the public are assured that the items have been deleted from the list of requirements."

This issue also speaks to the huge gender disparity that exists in many of Nigerian laws, especially on issues of travel and immigration.

One of those issues is a Nigerian woman cannot confer Nigerian citizenship on her foreign husband, but a Nigerian man can confer citizenship on his foreign wife.

This ought not be equality because the law is a fundamental human right. What is good for the goose should be good for the gander.