By Peter Onyekachukwu 
By Peter Onyekachukwu
Despite sweeping reforms and digital innovations introduced by Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, a disturbing racket persists within Nigeria’s passport offices — where immigration officers continue to extort applicants and inflate official passport fees for personal gain.
An investigation by Stonix News reveals how officers at the National Immigration Service (NIS) office in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, and other locations still engage in the illegal sale of passports, charging as much as ₦150,000 for a 32-page passport and ₦250,000 for a 64-page one — far above the government’s official rates of ₦100,000 and ₦200,000 respectively.
A Nigerian who recently attempted to renew his international passport recounted his experience with a female immigration officer who quoted ₦85,000 for a five-year, 32-page passport and ₦150,000 for a ten-year, 64-page one. The officer also demanded an extra ₦5,000 for a birth certificate.
After consulting a mentor, the applicant decided to process the passport himself via the official NIS portal only to discover that the actual fees were ₦50,000 and ₦100,000, respectively. “Why are immigration officers still fleecing Nigerians when the process can be done online in minutes?” he asked.
The applicant later visited the Uyo passport office for capturing and was met with another level of corruption. A female officer demanded ₦500 to staple his documents a task that required no such payment. “She didn’t even staple the papers after collecting the money,” he said.
Further interactions revealed a well-organized system where officers present themselves as middlemen, offering “express” passport services for additional payments ranging between ₦25,000 and ₦50,000. Applicants who decline such offers are often subjected to unnecessary delays.
According to the report, the six-to-seven-week processing timeline frequently quoted by officers is deliberately designed to frustrate applicants into paying for “express” service, even though the minister’s directive stipulates a maximum of three weeks.
“The system is rigged from within,” the writer observed. “Every officer behaves like a roadside agent, asking if you already have someone assisting you, and if not, they connect you to another officer who takes a cut.”
While acknowledging improvements in the digital application and verification systems, the report condemned the persistent corruption among officers. It urged Nigerians to apply directly through the official portal and resist paying bribes.
The writer also called on the Minister of Interior to accelerate the proposed self-capturing reform, which would allow applicants to complete passport applications entirely online, reducing contact with corrupt officers.
“If Nigeria must become a better country, we all must refuse to aid corruption,” the piece concluded. “Minister Tunji-Ojo cannot be in every passport office, but Nigerians can stop funding the greed of immigration personnel who have turned the system into their personal market.”