Interior Ministry Takes Measures To Curb Passport Racketeering By Immigration Officers
THE Federal Government through the Ministry of Interior says it was adopting measures to address passport scarcity and racketeering by Immigration officials across the country.
10 special passport centres will now be opened in the coming weeks to fast-track booklets processing, according to the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola on Thursday, noting that the goal was to have one in each local government, university campuses, institutions of higher learning and other places.
The decision was made after a meeting with the Comptroller-General of Immigration, Muhammad Babandede, and passport control officers. The Minister noted that undercover operatives wearing body cameras would also be deployed in all passport offices to detect and report any form of solicitations, inflation, improper communications, extortion, diversion, hoarding and other corrupt practices. He insisted that no applicant would be made to pay any illegitimate fee.
Aregbesola confirmed that cases of extortion and inability to receive the booklets paid for has become endemic in immigration offices across the country, noting that the passport issuance was challenged by shortage of booklets, touting, racketeering, cost inflation and passports being issued to ineligible persons.
The minister stated, “We are going to embed security operatives – seen and unseen – in all our passport offices. They will wear body cameras. They will detect and report any form of solicitations, inflation, improper communications, extortion, diversion, hoarding and other corrupt practices.
“Those caught will be dealt with according to the law. An ombudsman will also be created for members of the public to receive complaints and reports on officers trying to deviate from prescribed guidelines and subversion of the process.”
IN his remarks, Babandede disclosed that 976,483 passports were issued to Nigerians home and abroad from January 2020 till date, while 244,336 are still outstanding.
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