The Federal Government of Nigeria has vowed to reciprocate after the United States announced stricter visa requirements mandating Nigerian applicants to disclose their social media activities over the past five years.
The U.S. Mission in Nigeria, in a statement on X on Sunday, August 18, warned that failure to comply with the rule could result in visa denial and future ineligibility for entry into the U.S. The regulation requires applicants to provide details such as email addresses, usernames, handles, and telephone numbers associated with all social media platforms used within the last five years.
“Visa applicants are required to list all social media usernames or handles of every platform they have used from the last five years on the DS-160 visa application form. Omitting social media information on your application could lead to visa denial and ineligibility for future visas,” the Mission stated.
The policy is part of ongoing immigration measures introduced under President Donald Trump’s administration, aimed at bolstering national security. The U.S. State Department has reportedly revoked 6,000 student visas since Secretary of State Marco Rubio assumed office seven months ago.
Reacting, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said Nigeria was informed of the development beforehand and will take reciprocal measures.
“On things of this nature, the best we can do is to carry out reciprocal action. Some people from the U.S. might want to apply for a visa, and we will adopt the same measures. Anything visa is reciprocal. 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 the Federal Government will convene an inter-agency meeting involving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior, and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to decide the most effective response.