Canadian High Commission reacts to denial of visa to Nigeria’s military chiefs

The Canadian High Commission in Nigeria has declined to comment on reports that Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, Chris Musa, and other senior military officers were denied visas.

In a Friday post on X, the embassy said it would not provide details on the visa statuses, stating that it does not disclose such information for “privacy reasons.”

“The High Commission of Canada in Nigeria is aware of media reports related to planned travel to Canada by senior officials.

“However, for privacy reasons, we are unable to provide any comment on the status of visa applications of specific individuals.”

On Thursday, during the maiden annual lecture of the National Association of the Institute for Security Studies (AANISS) in Abuja, Mr Musa revealed that he and other officers were denied visas to Canada.

Mr Musa said he was scheduled to attend a war veterans’ event in Canada but could not do so after the embassy denied him visa.

“Every disappointment is a blessing,” he said while speaking on the incident. “Yesterday, I was meant to be in Canada. There’s an event to honour our veterans, those that were injured during battles, and we were meant to be there.”

“We were invited with our team. Half has gone, and half has been denied. It’s very disappointing,” he added.

Error in application

However, according to a report by The Nation newspaper, the officers were denied visas because their applications contained a diplomatic error.

The newspaper reported that a Nigerian government source disclosed that the errors were made by the desk officer who filed the visa application. The report also stated that the government has begun working with the embassy to resolve the issue.

“There was no Note Verbale from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs contrary to the existing protocol for any trip by high-ranking government officials,” the Nation quoted the source as saying.

Reactions

The Canadian embassy, however, received backlash from senior government officials following Mr Musa’s revelation.

The National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, strongly condemned the Canadian government for denying visas to Mr Musa and other top military officers.

“Thank you for the courage to say Canada denied you visas. They can go to hell,” the NSA said.

Similarly, the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said denying the visa of a high-ranking official is disrespectful to the entire country.

“As much as we are not ready to dabble into the sovereignty or sovereign issues of other nations, issues of visas or the issue of migration management is a sovereign matter and the right of every country.

“As much as we don’t want to dabble into that, it is not a disrespect to the Chief of Defence Staff; to me, without knowing the facts, it is disrespectful to the country, and it is disrespectful to us as a people,” he stated.