Officials at the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) headquarters in Abuja have come under scrutiny for neglecting the passport renewal request of a 78-year-old woman since November allegedly because she refused to pay a N15,000 bribe
.FIJ confirmed that despite months of delay, a NIS staff member advised the septuagenarian’s daughter over the phone to pay N15,000 to expedite the passport’s production process.The NIS headquarters has been approached with complaints by the elderly woman’s daughter at its passport collection and SERVICOM points. However, the office has yet to produce the renewed passport booklets.
Tochi Prince-Alaba (not real name), recounting her ordeal to FIJ on Tuesday, explained that she applied for her mother’s international passport renewal in October last year. She encountered challenges with the National Identification Number (NIN) verification at the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), but these were resolved by November.
However, despite assurances of a processing time of two to six weeks, the passport remained unavailable. Attempts to track its production progress online proved futile as the application could not be found on the website.Prince-Alaba described the initial kindness shown by NIS staff when they visited the headquarters in October, especially towards her elderly mother.
However, this demeanor changed drastically when they spoke over the phone weeks later, with the staff member demanding a bribe for expedited service.She recounted the staff member’s insistence on payment of the bribe, highlighting instances where others had paid varying amounts to bribe-seeking NIS officials for passport services.
Prince-Alaba also shared her experience at the passport collection desk, where she was merely given a collection slip without any concrete updates on the status of her mother’s passport renewal.Efforts to seek assistance from the SERVICOM unit yielded little result, leaving her frustrated and without recourse.
Multiple applicants have voiced similar complaints against the NIS office in Abuja, taking to social media to express their dissatisfaction.
Despite these grievances, Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has not addressed the issue.FIJ’s attempts to reach out to NIS officials for comment were unsuccessful, with phone numbers either busy or inoperable.
The NIS had not responded to FIJ’s inquiries via texts and email at the time of press.While the NIS has publicly denounced passport racketeering, there are allegations that some individuals involved in these illegal activities operate within the NIS itself.
Prince-Alaba believes that a network of racketeers exists within the NIS, from the gates of its offices to the production rooms, exacerbating the challenges faced by passport applicants.
As complaints mount against the extortionist behavior of NIS officials in Abuja, there is a growing call for accountability and transparency within the agency to ensure the fair and efficient processing of passport applications for all Nigerians.Credit: Fij