Seven ECOWAS countries introduce biometric card — Premium Times Nigeria
In Lagos, Nigeria, representatives of the Economic Community of West African States announced the introduction of the ECOWAS National Biometric Identity Card (ENBIC), which is intended to simplify checks of travelers at the region’s borders. The card has already been introduced by Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Ghana, Benin, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria, Premium Times Nigeria reports.
Data verification at the border
The card contains a biometric chip with the holder’s identification data. Immigration officers will be able to read this data at border checkpoints, verify the traveler’s identity and the document’s authenticity. Obinna Ajugwo, head of border management and migration at the ECOWAS Commission in Nigeria, said the system is intended to provide more secure identification than the paper ECOWAS travel certificate.
According to him, the harmonized identification system is also intended to facilitate the exchange and verification of information among the immigration authorities of member states. In April, the regional bloc said that countries had committed to working toward the mutual recognition of ENBIC at air, land, and sea borders by December.
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Rules of stay remain unchanged
The biometric card does not grant an automatic right to reside in another ECOWAS state. The Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, Residence and Establishment allows citizens of member states to enter another country of the community visa-free and stay there for up to 90 days under the protocol’s terms. For a longer stay, the requirements of the host country must be met.
In Nigeria, ENBIC applications began in November 2025 through the Nigeria Immigration Service. Applications can be submitted through its online portal: the procedure includes data verification, biometric enrollment, validation, production, and issuance of the document. The service advises applicants to check the current requirements and processing fee.
ENBIC is positioned as a machine-readable travel document intended to replace the handwritten ECOWAS travel certificate. At the same time, the Nigeria Immigration Service still publishes information about the certificate, so travelers are advised to check which specific document is accepted for a particular trip. According to Nigerian officials, the card’s chip has a digital signature of the issuing authority: changes to the entered data can be detected during authentication at the border.
