A series of allegations have surfaced regarding the Nigeria Immigration Service’s conduct in Lagos, with accusations of attempted extortion targeting Nigerian citizens seeking passport renewals.
According to an undisclosed applicant who shared his experience, explaining that after paying the required N130,000 for the renewal and change of data, he was asked to pay an additional N30,000.
Nigerian Immigration Service Is Embroiled In An Extortion Scandal Over Renewals Of Passport, Accused Of Demanding An Unofficial N30,000 Fee
He said, “After paying the required N130,000 as stipulated on the immigration website, I was asked to pay another N30,000 which is not legally provided for.
“If you want to do change of data on the online platform, you are expected to pay N130,000. After paying the money, they will tell you to pay another N30,000 at their office. I was told that the person heading them at Alausa is the one collecting N30,000.”
“I was told that before I can do any capturing, I have to pay the additional N30,000 and we do not understand where it is going.”
Furthermore, the victim was informed that his passport would not be released unless he paid the N30,000.
In addition, another victim also confirmed that “Obtaining a passport has been a challenging endeavor,” another frustrated applicant revealed. “Despite fulfilling the necessary financial obligations and completing the biometric capture process, I was left waiting for several weeks without any updates regarding the status of my application.”
It wasn’t until the applicant contacted a well-connected immigration officer at the NIS that the process was expedited.
However, this came at an additional, unofficial cost.
The applicant expressed their deep disappointment and concern regarding the frustrating and costly experience they encountered. They emphasized the unacceptability of ordinary citizens having to resort to bribing officials in order to access essential services such as passport issuance.
However, the immigration public relations officer, Kenneth Udo, told SaharaReporters that demanding an additional fee is against the standard of the organisation.