Following series of complaints by residents of Delta State over arbitrary charges by officers of the Delta State Command of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Asaba, a human rights activist, Mr. Victor Ojei, has called on the Comptroller-General, Nigeria Immigration Service, Kemi Nandap, to as a matter of urgency, stop the illegal charges by officers in the state.
A copy of Ojei’s petition, titled “Petition Against Corruption Practices at the Delta State Command of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Asaba, Delta State”, was made available to journalists in Asaba, Delta State capital.
The petition addressed to the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Federal Ministry of Interior, copied the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), among others.
The petition read “we write to formally bring to your attention, the ongoing and deeply entrenched corrupt practices at the Delta State Command of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Asaba. Our findings, based on a recent investigative operation, reveal that officers at this command extort international passport applicants through illegal fees and arbitrary charges beyond the official payments prescribed by the Ministry of Interior. Applicants at the Delta State Command are coerced into paying additional fees that are not sanctioned by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).
“After making the official payment for passport processing, they are compelled to pay a so-called ‘commitment fee’ of N12,000, purportedly to cover operational costs, including poor power supply. Applicants requiring expedited service are forced to pay an additional N40,000 for ‘express service’. Previously, the charge for this was N15,000, then increased to N20,000 and presently hiked to N40,000. This was during the December 2024 peak season when the demand for 10-year passports surged”.
“Officers at the Delta State Command allegedly create artificial scarcity of the 66-page, 10-year validity passport booklet and misleading applicants into believing that the booklet is unavailable. This tactic is employed to extract higher payments from desperate applicants, even though the headquarters in Abuja has supplied sufficient booklets.”
“Our investigation uncovered the involvement of unauthorized “Super Agents” who collect N50,000 per applicant, further complicating and commercializing the passport issuance process. Applicants who refuse to comply with these extortionists experience deliberate delays in their passport processing. Their applications are either stalled indefinitely or given the lowest priority.”
He lamented that these corrupt practices not only violate the Minister of Interior’s directive that applicants should not pay any additional fees beyond the official payment, but also undermines public confidence in the Nigeria Immigration Service.
