Passport: Immigration probes ‘unprofessional conduct’ of personnel

The Acting Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Caroline Wura-Ola Adepoju, has ordered an investigation into some complaints of misconduct levelled against personnel of the Service in some Passport offices across the nation.

The Service Public Relations Officer, DCI Aridegbe Adedotun, who disclosed this in a statement on Saturday in Abuja, said the Acting CG was deeply concerned about the situation.

“The Comptroller General has ordered an investigation into the matter, especially in regard to the noncompliance with Ministerial directives on the timeline of Passport administration,” the statement said in part.

Following the complete clearance of Passport application backlogs nationwide in line with the directive of the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, a new timeline of two weeks for processing and issuance of Passport was announced by the Minister on the 4th of October, 2023.

The Minister and the Ag. CGI provided different phone numbers to the general public to report misdemeanours by NIS personnel at any of the NIS offices.

“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 the production and issuance of Passports from all Passport Control Officers.

“As of today, Friday 13th October 2023, most of our Passport offices are producing Passports of applicants enrolled on Wednesday, 11th October, 2023,” he said.

The Service spokesman however explained that applications for reissuance of lost Passports and change of data take a longer time, adding that some applicants in this category may put the Service in bad light when they complain of delay and noncompliance with the new timeline.

“These applications are required to go through security clearance and correspondence with Service Headquarters before approval for production,” he said.

The statement appealed to members of the public to contact the Service through its various public communication channels including Twitter, Facebook handles (@nigimmigration) and Contact Center on 09121900655, 09121556359 and 09121477092 to report any form of misconduct by any member of the workforce for appropriate sanctions.