Some officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in Lagos have been exposed for their corrupt practices and will face the wrath of the law.
They were caught recently when the Acting Comptroller General of the NIS, Isa Idris, disguised as an applicant for an international passport at the service’s Lagos State Command, Ikoyi, after which he alleged that some officers of the service offered to engage in shady deals with him.
In an interview with newsmen, Idris said he decided to walk in unannounced in order to gain firsthand experience of what Nigerians are going through “in the hands of unscrupulous officers of NIS.”
It would be recalled that Idris, who assumed office in September, had pledged to tackle three things including addressing the challenges faced by Nigerians in their efforts to procure international passports, enhance border security and improve workers’ welfare.
In his words, the unscheduled visit to Ikoyi was to confirm the allegations against officers of the immigration offices in Lagos State including Ikoyi, Ikeja and FESTAC town.
The acting CG noted that when he approached the officers at the Ikoyi command, he was given various high prices for the different categories of passports.
He said “When I approached the officers, they offered me the menu without recognising me. They said 32 pages of the international passport for five years would cost me N45,000 instead of N27,000. They said 64 pages for five year would cost me N55,000 instead of N37,000, and N95,000 for 64 pages for 10 years instead of N72,000.
“I was asked where I was from and I said Niger State. They also asked me if I had a letter of indigeneship and other documents and I said I didn’t have anyone. So they said they would collect N3,500 to provide all the documents for me”.
He averred that the lesson from the incident will help the service to strengthen the passport issuance process, adding that having an international passport of a country confers nationality on its holder and so it must have integrity.
“So with what I have experienced firsthand today, it simply means that anybody can come in from anywhere and obtain our passport. This is unacceptable. So I can assure you that the Immigration Service under our watch will strengthen the issuance process and the integrity of the document,” he said.
According to him, the officers caught in the act during his unscheduled visit have been documented and that they would be disciplined accordingly.
He said “The laws are there, and so they will be made to face the law. There are about three of them but we are very sure that it is an organised crime. They are not alone but further investigations would reveal that”.
