Seychelles says it imposed restrictions on Nigerian tourists over prevalent criminal activities of drug trafficking and internet fraud linked to the nationals of thebmost populous African country.
Vice President of Seychelles,
Ahmed Afif disclosed this saying immigration authorities had been instructed to
only permit Nigerians with diplomatic passports and residential permits access
into the country.
Nigerians seeking to enter
Seychelles as tourists or new immigrants have been banned indefinitely, the
vice president said, according to Seychelles News Agency.
Afif said his country was able
to link Nigerians to numerous criminal activities, especially drug-trafficking
and online fraud syndicates.
“We have seen a clear link
between this with certain people from Nigeria. In the past two weeks, for
example, 13 people coming from Nigeria have been arrested when entering
Seychelles because they were carrying drugs into the country,” Mr Afif.
“In one case, 62 Nigerians who
said they were on holiday used false credit cards and the money was never
credited to the accounts of these establishments.
“These establishments have lost
money. These people spent free holidays in the country at the expense of the
establishment owners, and there is nothing that can be done for them,” he
added.
Afif’s comments came days after
controversy broke out on social media after some Nigerians alleged being denied
visas for no tenable reasons by Seychelles.
Nigeria has faced visa bans
from other countries in recent months, including the United Arab Emirates,
which added the West African nation to a list of 17 African countries not
welcome.
Afif said Seychelles does not
necessarily have any issues with Nigeria and Nigerians, saying the country was
only concerned and needed to do something about a recent spike in criminal
activities linked to Nigerians.
“We do not have a problem with
Nigeria or its people though we do not tolerate such criminal activities in our
country,” Afif said. “There are other online scams originating from Nigeria. We
have seen that these people are also coming to Seychelles and doing those
scams.”
“When we checked the payments
made for them to come to Seychelles, it is from only one source. This is for
different people coming on different days, which shows an organised syndicate,”
the vice president said.
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