Fact-Checking Reno Omokri’s Claims About The Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport
A former presidential aide and popular social media user, Reno Omokri, made some claims on X about the Abuja International Airport being the most modern in Africa, and fully automated without any immigration officers within the premises of the airport anymore. The 65 seconds video posted on July 10, 2025, is captioned, “Abuja Airport Is The Most Modern Airport In Africa. Once You Land, Everything Is Electronic. No Immigration. Completely Paperless. President Tinubu, Bunmi Ojo, And Keyamo Deserve Praise.”
When this report was published, this claim had about 513,000 views and over 6,600 replies, reposts, quotes, likes and bookmarks. In the comment section, @Mannie_147 said “No immigration officer but immigration officer Boku for him surrounding” and @mrwedeofficial wrote “Who stand for this man back ?”
VERIFICATIONS
CLAIM 1: Is Abuja Airport The Most Modern Airport In Africa?
VERIFICATION
Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, NAIA, features a modern international terminal commissioned in December 2018, capable of handling 15 million passengers per year, and connected to the Abuja Light Rail, a first in West and Central Africa.
It earned Africa-wide recognition in 2020 as the Best Airport by Size and Region in the ‘5 to 15 million passengers per year category’ from Airports Council International based on customer surveys. During the award ceremony, other African airports swept Best in other categories.
In the 2024 ranking of “Best Airport by Size and Region” by the Airports Council International, the Casablanca Mohammed V Airport in Casablanca, Morocco, emerged first in the “5 to 15 million passengers per year” category, a position held since 2022. In 2021, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, Kenya, swept the “5 to 15 million passengers per year” award category.
VERDICT
The claim that Abuja airport is the most modern airport in Africa is MISLEADING. This award was in 2020, not 2025.
CLAIM 2: Everything Is Electronic, Completely Paperless
VERIFICATION
As of mid‑2024, all eight electronic passport control gates, e‑gates, at Abuja’s international terminal were fully installed and considered 100 percent complete, with deployment aiming to reduce wait times and human interaction. These gates reportedly clear Nigerian passport holders in under 30 seconds.
NV-A had an interview with Adeola Busayo, a passenger who was about checking in to the boarding area and she affirmed that “the electronic passport-control gates has helped in cutting delays”. She added that “some airlines do not accept digital boarding passes on smartphones, thereby necessitating boarding pass printouts”. Busayo further stressed that “while passport control via e‑gates is automated, other passenger services like check‑in, baggage tagging, or security screening, are still partially or entirely manual, depending on the airline.”
VERDICT
The claim that everything is electronic and completely paperless is MISLEADING. Although the passport control gates are electronic, other things like boarding pass, baggage tagging and other security screening are still partially or entirely manual.
CLAIM 3: There Are No Immigration Officials At The Terminal
VERIFICATION
The Nigeria Immigration Service is responsible for immigration matters at the airport, as part of the Federal Ministry of Interior. Systems like the Migration Information and Data Analysis System, MIDAS, were launched at Abuja Airport years ago to professionalise and speed up traveler processing, which is being manned by the Nigerian Immigration Service.
When NV-A asked Danjuma Joseph, an Assistant Inspector of Immigration about the physical presence of immigration officers and the automation of verification processes, he said “who lied to you that everything is automated, we have to be here to check and stamp passports. If we leave the airport, which is a border point, who will check passports?”
A passenger who returned from the United States, Benjamin Oluwatosin also told the fact checker that “Nigeria has not evolved to the point where immigration officials will leave the airport”, adding that his passport had just been stamped on arrival by immigration officers at the airport.
Although all efforts to go into the checking area inside proved abortive as the fact-checker was refused access by security personnels, a critical look at the video also nullifies Omokri’s claim, as immigration officers are seen at different angles in keyframes from his video.
VERDICT
The claim that there are no Immigration officials at the international terminal is FALSE. Passengers and officials at the airport confirmed their continued presence and in the video shared by Omokri, immigration officials can be seen around.
CONCLUSION
All claims made by Omokri about Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, are either FALSE or MISLEADING. The airport ranking as the most modern in Africa dates back to 2021 and airports from other countries have since held the title. Also, checks at the airport reveal that check-in processes are not fully automated and the claim that there are no longer immigration officials is FALSE.
