NDLEA Revises Visa Clearance Rule for Married Women After Public Backlash

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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has removed the new law of visa clearance mandated for married women after receiving heavy backlash.

 The NDLEA announced on October 10 that Nigerian married women must submit a “letter of approval to travel from their husbands, attached with their passport photograph”  before they can be given a visa clearance certificate to travel out of the country.

They cited the policy as being necessary because some countries, such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Brazil, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Russia, require NDLEA visa clearance as a precautionary measure to prevent drug trafficking and other illegal activities involving Nigerian citizens. The clearance ensures that travellers from Nigeria are not involved in drug-related crimes and screens potential drug traffickers before they are allowed to travel.

However, the change quickly raised social media criticism, with women raising concerns about the law’s inequity. They pointed out that no similar requirement was imposed on men, which sparked discussions on gender equality, particularly the unequal treatment of women.

“Not sure what civil society is up to these days, but we need to lobby for bills that give married women their autonomy. Getting approval from your husband to receive NDLEA clearance is ridiculous. What’s the difference between this and the Taliban?” X user @Adacampbell commented.

However, following public backlash, the NDLEA promptly reversed the requirement. A public statement signed by the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy reads,

“The entire procedure of visa clearance issued by the NDLEA, as required by some countries, is currently under underground review, and one of them is the requirement that a married woman present a letter of approval from her husband,” Femi Babafemi said, “Members of the public are assured that the item has been deleted from the lists of requirements.”

With the requirement reversed, feminists maintained that there should be litigation to ensure such discriminatory policies are not proposed in the future.

“It is a good thing NDLEA came out to publicly say they have jettisoned that provision. I, however, still think there should be litigation with the aim of a court Declaration against similar institutional discrimination towards women. So it would stand as a reference point,” @Mochievous tweeted.