The ECOWAS National Biometric Identity Card (ENBIC) is expected to promote free movement of people, goods and services in West Africa.
To this end, a delegation from the commission has taken the advocacy and sensitization campaign to communities with the aim to curb human trafficking.
The four-day campaign in Nigeria, Benin and Togo was held in collaboration with the International Organization of Migration (IOM), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and Nigeria’s National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).
The ENBIC has been adopted as a valid travel document by ECOWAS member states and will serve to improve data management at ECOWAS borders –curbing illegal migration and providing a more secure region.
ECOWAS Commission’s Commissioner for Trade, Customs and Free Movement, Tei Konzi says the ENBIC will improve the region’s security architecture and address irregular migration issues.
The biometric identity card will also enable citizens traverse the region with greater ease, thereby, improving data management of member States.
ENBIC was approved by the ECOWAS Heads of States and Government in 2014 to replace the ECOWAS travel certificate.
So far, it has been deployed in Ghana, Senegal and Guinea Bissau.