The Federal Government has said it will introduce reciprocal measures in response to an existing visa policy of the United States that requires applicants to disclose their social media handles and activities over the past five years.
The U.S. Mission in Nigeria reiterated on Monday that all Nigerian visa applicants must list their social media usernames across every platform used within the period on the DS-160 visa application form.
It warned that failure to provide the information could result in visa denial and ineligibility for future U.S. visas.
“Applicants certify that the information in their visa application is true and correct before they sign and submit. Omitting social media information could lead to visa denial and ineligibility for future visas,” the Mission stated.
Speaking to TheCable, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said Nigeria was duly informed of the policy before it was implemented.
He noted that the Federal Government intends to apply the same requirements to U.S. citizens seeking Nigerian visas.
“We are aware of the development. I think it’s part of the new measures they informed us about before now. On matters like this, the best approach is reciprocity. What you are mandating our nationals to do, we will also mandate your citizens applying for our visa to do,” Ebienfa said.
He added that an inter-agency meeting will soon be convened to determine the best way to implement the policy. The meeting will involve the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior, and the National Intelligence Agency.
According to Ebienfa, the aim is to develop a comprehensive response that ensures fairness and protects Nigeria’s interests in line with international practices.
