NDLEA denies husband approval requirement for married women seeking visas

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has debunked the controversial visa requirement that married women must present a letter of approval from their husbands before being cleared for international travel.

NDLEA, in a statement on Thursday, said the visa clearance requirement, which has now caused public outrage, is no longer part of its visa clearance process.

The requirement was introduced as part of the NDLEA’s visa clearance process, a procedure required by some foreign countries to prove that you have not been convicted of any drug-related offences in Nigeria and reduce the incidence of drug trafficking.

Meanwhile, many critics who see the requirement as discriminatory claim that it violates women’s rights and reinforces gender inequality.

However, NDLEA, through its spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, explained in a public notice that the controversial visa requirement had been introduced in response to “ugly developments in some source countries.”

NDLEA noted the controversial visa requirement was one of the items that it has since jettisoned as a non-mandatory item on the list and is currently undergoing review.

“The entire procedure for visa clearance issued by the NDLEA as required by some countries is currently undergoing review and the requirement for a married woman to present a letter of approval from her husband to travel is one of the items that the agency has since jettisoned as a non-mandatory item on the list,” NDLEA said.

“The inclusion of that item ab initio arose following some ugly developments in some source countries,”

The anti-graft agency, however, assured the public that the item has been deleted from the list of requirements in the ongoing review exercise, which will be made public in the coming days.