NDLEA Jettisons Controversial Visa Clearance Policy Requiring Married Women to Provide Husband’s Approval for Travel

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has said it has jettisoned the law which required married women to bring a letter of clearance from her husband before leaving the country.

The controversial requirement has sparked a number of criticism with most people describing it as outdated, discriminatory and government sponsored misogyny.

On Thursday, September 10, 2024 the spokesperson for the agency, Femi Babafemi disclosed in a notice that the provision had been removed as an ongoing review of the entirely review.

“The entire procedure for visa clearance issued by the NDLEA, as required by some countries, is currently under review, and the requirement for a married woman to present a letter of approval from her husband to travel is one of the items the Agency has since discarded as a non-mandatory requirement. The inclusion of this item initially arose due to certain unfavourable developments in some source countries,” the notice read.

“Members of the public are assured that this item has been removed from the list of requirements in the ongoing review, which will be made public in the coming days.”