Section 7: Functions of the Commission.

(1) The Commission shall -
(a) advise the Federal Government through the Ministry on policy matters relating to persons of concern;
(b) protect and assist Persons of Concern and seek the collaboration of other appropriate MDAs for such protection and assistance;
(c) safeguard the welfare and humanitarian issues of migrants, protect and assist migrants and their families, including other nationals’ resident in Nigeria, under the provisions of international conventions, protocols and treaties guiding the protection of rights and promotion of the welfare of migrants;
(d) provide a platform for the uniform administration of migration in Nigeria as a lead agency of stakeholders in the field of migration through the Consultative Committee established under section 27 of this Act and in collaboration with the Ministry;
(e) act as the lead agency for the formulation, review and implementation of national policy on migration in collaboration with the Ministry;
(f) work towards eliminating irregular migration and encourage orderly, safe and regular migration of Nigerians;
(g) ensure compliance with the provisions of relevant international treaties and conventions in collaboration with appropriate agencies of government;
(h) register and make personal documentation of persons of concern;
(i) support state governments in the creation and maintenance of an updated register of persons of concerns within their jurisdiction;
(j) liaise with donor agencies to promote their commitment for the development and funding of humanitarian interventions on a sustainable basis, targeting persons of concern;
(k) interface and sustain relationship with relevant government MDAs and where required, give necessary advice and capacity support towards meeting the needs of persons of concern;
(l) ensure that approaches for the protection and provision of assistance to persons of concern and their host communities are mainstreamed and integrated into government policies and programmes;
(m) undertake comprehensive multi-agency appraisal by using participatory assessment methodologies to identify threats to the rights of persons of concern and their host communities;
(n) carryout protection risks assessment, assistance gaps analysis and identify the resources and opportunities available and offered locally, nationally and internationally in relation to the protection and assistance of persons of concern;
(o) monitor and regularly review the implementation of protection mechanisms and assistance programmes targeted at persons of concern;
(p) identify and promote best practices in the management of camps of refugees, migrants and internally displaced persons by harmonising protection and assistance standards in camps, taking into consideration the host communities;
(q) facilitate the restoration of persons and communities displaced due to ecologically induced occurrences;
(r) develop and ensure compliance by government, civil society organisations and humanitarian agencies workers, to guidelines, standard operating procedures and codes of conduct for working with various groups of persons of concern, including women, children, elderly, persons with disabilities and such other groups with special needs;
(s) create humanitarian coordination sections to prescribe the composition and responsibility of each technical section in addition to or in modification of the sections recommended in the relevant national framework and policies on persons of concern;
(t) develop standard procedures, in conjunction with relevant MDAs and Inter-Governmental or humanitarian agencies to return, re-admit and reintegrate, migrants in accordance with extant legal instruments;
(u) ensure that internally displaced persons are protected during and after displacement, return or resettlement and reintegration subject to exit programmes of the Commission;
(v) develop a policy framework to encourage and promote voluntary return of internally displaced persons to their respective homes or places of habitual residence or to resettle voluntarily in another part of the country with dignity; and
(w) facilitate negotiation on and carryout voluntary repatriation of Nigerian refugees and irregular migrants to ensure their physical safety in collaboration with the Ministry responsible for foreign affairs, Nigerian Immigration Service, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, security agencies and other stakeholders.
(2) The Commission shall in addition to the provisions of subsection (1) -
(a) encourage and provide capacity building and skill acquisition through training programmes for refugees and migrants, who are being repatriated in order to be self-dependent and gainfully engaged upon their return;
(b) collaborate with the Ministry responsible for foreign affairs and other relevant agencies to negotiate and facilitate the implementation of bilateral agreements with nations repatriating Nigerian citizens, so as to provide adequate time for the deportees to secure, convey and wind-up their activities in the deporting countries, including the opportunity to arrange for banking and conclude financial transactions;
(c) collaborate with other relevant agencies to negotiate the safe return of Nigerian migrants, where the host country has legitimate cause to return them or decided to voluntarily return;
(d) in consultation with the Ministry responsible for foreign affairs and other relevant agencies, put in place policies, standards and procedures for the return, readmission and reintegration of migrants in line with relevant international legal instruments;
(e) ensure protection of the human rights of the returnees, especially in cases of mandatory return and honour international and regional cooperation in the area of return and readmission agreements;
(f) in collaboration with other relevant agencies, be responsible for the repatriation of Nigerian refugees and ensure that repatriation, where required, is carried out in such a way as to ensure physical safety of the returnee;
(g) work with the Ministry responsible for foreign affairs to ensure that return is done in a manner that respects the human rights, safety, dignity and honour of migrants in the process and actual phase of return;
(h) consider such other matters that the Minister may refer to it for recommendations; and
(i) do such other things as may be necessary for the performance of its functions under this Act.
(3) Where there is a large-scale influx of persons claiming to fall within the meaning of refugees under this Act or massive internal displacement or in situations of mass return of deportees, the Commission shall, in consultation with other relevant stakeholders, provide emergency remedial measures and advise the Federal Government on the appropriate measures to be taken.