The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has issued a strong condemnation of the recent incident involving Mrs. Favour Igiebor, who tore her husband’s International Passport at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos.
The NOA’s Director General, Mallam Lanre Issa Onilu, described the act as a serious affront to Nigerian law and national symbols.
In a statement released by Paul Odenyi, Deputy Director of Press for the NOA, the agency stressed that the International Passport, issued by the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), is a critical national symbol and property of the Federal Government.
The agency said the destruction of such an important document was a grievous assault on a collective national asset and a significant breach of national pride.
Onilu said, “What the lady has done is a grievous assault to our collective asset and a dent on the symbol of our identity as a nation.”
He further affirmed that the NOA supports the NIS’s efforts to investigate and prosecute such breaches under Section 10 (B) of the Immigration Act, 2015, which deals with the damage of important national symbols.
The NOA also highlighted the need for increased public enlightenment and awareness campaigns regarding national symbols.
“The incident underscores the importance of respecting our national symbols as part of our patriotic commitment to national development,” Onilu added.
The agency’s statement called for citizens to uphold the integrity of national symbols and to actively participate in promoting their significance.
