The Acting Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Isa Jere Idris, alleged that some personnel of the service attempted to engage in shady activities with him when he disguised himself as an international passport applicant at the Lagos State Command, Ikoyi, on Monday.
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Mr. Idris told PREMIUM TIMES in an exclusive phone conversation that he decided to stroll in unannounced to have a personal look at what Nigerians are going through at the hands of dishonest NIS officials.
He said his unannounced visit to Ikoyi on Monday was to confirm claims against immigration officers in Lagos State, specifically in Ikoyi, Ikeja, and FESTAC town.
He claimed that when he approached personnel at the Ikoyi command, he was quoted varied exorbitant charges for various passport classifications. That the NIS personnel even offered to produce indigeneship certificate and other documents since he had none with him
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 any one. So they said they would collect N3,500 to provide all the documents for me,”
The immigration chief claimed that the officers had no idea who he was as of the time the phone interview, and that the Comptroller for the Lagos Command of the service, Bauchi Aliyu, was shocked when he finally showed up in his office.
Mr. Idris stated that the lesson will assist the service in strengthening the passport issue process, stating that an international passport confers nationality on its holder and hence must be of high integrity.
He said, “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 added, “The document has integrity and so the processes of issuing it must have integrity. We must verify attached relevant documents because with what I saw this morning anybody can claim to be who he or she is not.
“So within a maximum of three weeks passport renewal must be done, but we must also ensure relevant background checks on the applicants especially based on their letters of indigeneship and birth certificates. What they do with these documents by the syndicates is to backdate them.
“If you claim you are from Kano or Rivers we must find out if your claims are true or not.”
He claimed that the personnel caught in the act during his unannounced visit had been documented and would be sanctioned as a result.
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”.
When he took office in September, the acting CG said he promised to address three issues: eliminating the obstacles Nigerians face in obtaining international passports, improving border security, and improving worker welfare.
He said that the interior minister is working hard to fulfill his responsibility of securing the nation’s boundary lines through the agencies under his command, including the immigration office, and that the challenges Nigerians have in obtaining passports will soon be a thing of the past.
Mr. Idris stated that he was determined to addressing the issue of service corruption.
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