FIJ
A researcher resident in Ogun State has accused officers attached to the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) office at Oke Mosan in Abeokuta of ensnaring Nigerians who follow the due process of passport collection.
The researcher, who asked not to be named, told FIJ that officers at the passport office are corrupt and never willing to help Nigerians get their passports without receiving a bribe.
He said the officers now cash in on the desperation of Nigerians who need to either get or renew their passports by extorting vast sums of money from them.
“Because there has been a backlog of applications and a shortage of passport booklets, they give passports to the highest bidder,” he told FIJ. “It is only when you come and you are desperate that they will give you. And when you get there, they will ask you, ‘Who is the officer helping you?’”
He explained that bribery is high at the office because the Passport Collection Officer (PCO) is retiring and is trying to rake in money for himself.
He said he knew the office was corrupt when he filled out his details on the NIS website but waited in vain for the office to call him to capture his biometrics.
“I waited after I submitted my details online in July 2021, but they did not call me. So I went there myself. I asked them why they were not calling people, and they said they would not call people until they came themselves,” said the researcher.
He said in November, four months after filling out a form on the NIS website, he went for capturing, but was stunned at what he saw.
“When I got there, I realised that people walked in and came to capture the next day. Anyone who took the corrupt route would get their passports on time,” he said.
