Comptroller general of immigration, Adepoju investigates officers behind passport racketeering & delays
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Mrs Caroline Adepoju, on Saturday, ordered an investigation into multiple complaints levelled against some of its officers over “noncompliance with ministerial directives on the timeline of passport administration”.
Adepoju, who expressed deep concern over complaints of passport racketeering and misconduct levelled against the Service’s personnel in some passport offices, disclosed appropriate phone numbers for Nigerians to report any form of misconduct by any personnel for appropriate sanctions.
The service Public Relations Officer, Dr Dotun Aridegbe, revealed this in a statement on Saturday, titled ‘Alleged unprofessional conducts at passport offices’.
According to the CG, the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on October 4 announced a new timeline of two weeks for processing and issuance of passports following the complete clearance of passport application backlogs nationwide.
She presented additional phone numbers for the public to report misdemeanors by NIS personnel at any of its offices, saying, “We are not only ready to answer your calls but resolve issues.”
Adepoju said the Service Spokesperson could be reached on 08028320751, and the Special Adviser on SERVICOM could be contacted on 08067761196. She added that the public could also reach the NIS on 09121900655, 09121556359 and 09121477092 or its X and Facebook handles, @nigimmigration
She assured citizens that “The Service has, on a daily basis, monitored the compliance level at all passport offices nationwide and at our missions abroad. We receive daily reports on production and issuance of passports from all Passport Control Officers.
She said as of Friday, most passport offices were producing passports of applicants enrolled on Wednesday, October 11, 2023. She however appealed to citizens to be patient, given that the re-issuance of lost passports and change of data requires more time to process due to security clearance.
In response to this some Nigerians have volunteered to give the immigration comptroller general names and phone numbers of immigration officers at Ikoyi and Festac passport offices who are behind passport racketeering and purposely delay capturing and issuance of passports to Nigerians.
This is a pledge given unanimously to Agenda Papers by some Nigerians who have in one way or the other been duped or victimized by these set of immigration officers.
