Royal Castle Ceramics: NIS Orders Re-Arrest of Five Chinese Nationals

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has issued a directive for the immediate re-arrest of five Chinese nationals employed at Royal Castle Ceramics in Ogun State. These individuals were initially arrested in August 2025 for alleged immigration violations, including illegal employment and misuse of visas, but were controversially released shortly afterward. Their sudden release reportedly followed lobbying by a retired senior immigration officer, sparking public outrage and concerns over corruption within the immigration agency.

An internal NIS memo mandated their re-apprehension from Friday, August 22, 2025, aiming to quell public dissatisfaction and facilitate comprehensive investigations into the workers’ immigration status and activities. The five expatriates involved are Zhang Damou, Qian Jin, Tang Pan, Lin Jianfeng, and Guo Zhengheng, holding various managerial and interpreter roles under questionable visa categories. They face allegations including quota trafficking, working beyond visa permissions, and other breaches under the Immigration Act, 2015.

Investigations by NIS uncovered that Royal Castle Ceramics, operational since 2022, never obtained the requisite business permits or establishment quotas for employing expatriates. The company has been accused of extensive immigration infractions, labor law violations—including unsafe working conditions and wage issues—and failure to comply with mandatory reporting and tax remittance obligations. The arrests not only address illegal immigration but highlight systemic abuses within the industrial sector’s expatriate employment practices.

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The incident has placed Comptroller General of Immigration, Kemi Nanna Nandap, under pressure to address both allegations of internal misconduct within NIS and broader enforcement challenges. Civil society and government bodies have called for transparency and stringent action to restore faith in the immigration system. Concurrently, the Ministry of Interior has initiated a review of all expatriate quotas and work permits linked to Royal Castle Ceramics and similar factories, citing widespread abuse of immigration privileges in the manufacturing industry.

This case underscores the ongoing battle against illegal immigration and abuse of regulatory systems in Nigeria’s industrial sector, marking a critical test for immigration enforcement and governance reforms under the current NIS leadership.