Heads of immigration from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) signed the Freetown Declaration at their annual meeting in Sierra Leone on 3–4 November, according to ID Tech. Under the declaration, from 1 January 2027 immigration officials at all official border crossings are to accept a valid ECOWAS National Biometric Identity Card issued by any member state as proof of identity and Community citizenship. The report says this applies even where the issuing country has not yet begun its own national rollout. Nigeria formally launched its version of the card in late 2025.
The declaration asks member states to brief border officials, equip crossings to verify cards from other states, and coordinate with national identity authorities. States are to submit rollout plans with target dates to the ECOWAS Commission by December 2030, extend coverage to border regions and citizens abroad, and keep the card affordable. The Commission is to finalise common technical specifications and a regional verification mechanism, and to report each year on progress.
The report quotes an ECOWAS Commission official as saying the free-movement protocol will only be effective depending on how member states implement it. It also notes that Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, which have left ECOWAS, are issuing their own shared biometric card. The article does not describe any opposition to the declaration itself.
Reporting note: This account relies on a single trade outlet, ID Tech, and describes commitments on paper rather than a completed rollout. We have not seen the text of the declaration itself.
Photo: David Hond / CC BY 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
