Section 116: Interpretation.

In this Act-
"alter" with its grammatical variations and cognate expression, when used with reference to a passport or any other travel document, identity document, work or residence permit shall include effecting a change or changes in a passport or any other such document, or permit, or the production or reproduction, or assistance in the production or reproduction of any part or portion of a passport or any other such document;
"Area office" means an administrative unit under the State command comprising at least three Local Government Areas;
"assets" means items of ownership convertible into cash ; total resources of a person or busness, as cash, notes and accounts receivable, securities, inventories, goodwill, fixtures, machineries or real estate;
"attachntent" includes forfeiture or the permanent deprivation of asset or property by order of a court;
"Board" means civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and prisons Services Board (CDFIPB);
"citizen of Nigeria" has the meaning assigned thereto by Sections 23 to 25 of the Amended constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2011, signed into Law by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the 10th day of January 2011, unless the context otherwise permits;
"comnnnd" means an administrative unit comprising among others, Area offices, out-post and Local Government Immigration offices under a Comptroller of Immigration Service;
"commercial carrier" means any person or any public, private or other entity engaged in transporting persons, goods or mails, by air, land or water, including the sea, for remuneration, hire or any other commercial benefit;
"Court" means the Federal High Court;
"criminal group" means a group which has been in existence for a period of not less than six months preceding the commission of the offence under this Act or any other relevant law, and which consists of three or more persons, the members of which have been acting in concert in the commission of crimes amounting to felony since its coming into existence, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, financial or other material benefit; and the group need not have formaily defined roles for its members, continuity of or permanence in its membership, or a developed structure;
"crew" in relation to a ship or aircraft means all persons actually employed in the working or service of a ship or aircraft including the master of the ship and captain of the aircraft, and "supemumerary crew" shall be construed
accordingly;
"Directorate" means an administrative unit at the service Headquarters headed by a Deputy Comptroller-General of lmmigration;
"Division" means an administrative unit under the Directorate at the Service Headquarters headed by an Assistant Comptroller-General of Immigration;
"enter" with its grammatical variations and cognate expression shall include land;
"Federal Government" means Federal Government of Nigeria;
"financial or other material beneft" includes any type of financial or non-financial inducement, payment, bribe, reward, advantage or service, including sexual or other services;
"fraudulent document" means a document which is forged, improperly issued or obtained through misrepresentation, corruption or duress or any other unlawful manner, produced or reproduced without lawful authority or used by a person other than the lawful holder;
"freezing" means temporarily prohibiting the transfer, conversion, disposal or movement of money or assets or temporarily assuming custody or control of money or assets;
" immigrant" means any person who is not a Nigerian citizen, or persons accorded immunity by reasons of diplomatic status, who enters or seeks to enter Nigeria;
"immigration officer" means any fit person employed in accordance with section 3 of the Act;
"import" with its grammatical variation and cognate expressions means to bring or cause to be brought into Nigeria;
"land" means disembark from a ship or aircraft and "disembark" shall be construed accordingly;
"leave" with grammatical variations and cognate expression include embark;
"Minister" means the Minister charged with responsibility for lmmigration;
"minor" means any young person under the age of 18 years;
"object of an offence of smuggling of migrants" means a smuggled person, whether or not he has suffered any economic. physical, psychological, emotional, social, or other injury loss or damage, including any violence, torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, or threat to his life, health or safety, or he has been subjected to exploitation by a smuggler, in relation to any of the offences of smuggling of migrants created under this Act or other relevant law;
"passport" means with reference to the person producing it a travel document funrished with a photograph of such person and issued to him by or on behalf of the country of which he is a subject or a citizen and for a
period which according to the laws of that country has not expired and includes any other similar document approved by the govemment establishing the nationality and identity of the person to whom it refers to the satisfaction of an immigration officer;
"permit" includes pass;
"person'' means an individual or corporate entity under this Act;
"prescribed" means prescribed by this Act or by Regulations or any Order under this Act;
"President" means the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria;
"procure'' includes recruit, incite, promise, or induce;
"prohibited immigrant" includes any person liable to be refused entry or to be deported under this Act;
recognized port"; or "Port of Entry" means in respect of landing from or embarking in an aircraft any recognized airport where there are facilities for customs, health and immigration inspection and in respect of persons landing from or embarking in a ship or otherwise arriving in or departing from Nigeria means any place where there are the like facilities;
"residence permit" means a document that allows a non-Nigerian to reside in Nigeria and carry out an approved activity as specified in the document, or to a company, resident or citizen of Nigeria as a dependant;
"receiving country" means the country into which a migrant is smuggled or the country in which he is enabled to stay illegally;
"section" is an administrative unit under a Division at the Headquarters and State Command;
"Service" means the Nigeria Immigration Service established by this Act;
"smuggling of migrants" means the procurement, in order to obtain directly or indirectly a financial or material benefit, of the illegal entry of a person into a country of which the person is not a national or a permanent
resident, or to facilitate the illegal stay of such a person in a country;
"smuggled person" means any person who is an object of any of the offences of smuggling of migrants created under this Act or any other relevant law, regardless of whether that person consented to, or collaborated or participated in the process of the smuggling or not, and regardless of whether the perpetrator is identified, apprehended, prosecuted or convicted or not;
"smuggler" means a smuggling of migrants offender;
"superior Immigration Officer" for the purpose of exercising authority in respect of this Act, means an officer not below the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Immigration Il;
"trafficking" mearns all acts and attempted acts involved in the recruitment, transportation within or across Nigerian borders, purchase, sale, transfer, receipt, or harbouring of a person involving the use of deception,
coercion or debt bondage for the purpose of placing or holding the person, whether for or not in involuntary servitude (domestic, sexual or reproductive), in forced or bonded labour, or in slavery-like conditions;
"transit shelter" means shelter established by the Service for the purpose of receiving caring for, rehabilitating and re-integrating into society, objects of smuggling of migrants offences;
"travel document" for entry into Nigeria includes in any proper case a visa and employrnent papers and international certificates of health valid for such entry and where a citizen of Nigeria is departing include any visa,
employment papers and international certificates of health valid for entry into or travel through any other country as the case may require;
"Trust Fund" means the objects of Smuggling of Migrants Trust Fund established under section 97 of this Act;
"visa" means an impress, vignette or endorsement on a travel document purporting to be signed and dated by an officer appointed for that purpose by or on behalf of the government of Nigeria and authorising entry into or transit across Nigeria subject to compliance with any special requirements prescribed by the Immigration Authorities at a port of entry and valid for specified time and for the number of journeys stated therein;
"work permit" means a document that allows a non-Nigerian expert to reside and work in Nigeria for a specified period of time;
"zone" means an administrative unit comprising of some State commands headed by an Assistant comptroIler-General of Immigration Service.