Citizen Commons Condemns the Corruption, Negligence and Poor Service Delivery of the Nigerian Immigration Service In Issuance International Passports to Nigerians, Demand FCC investigation of the Nigeria Immigration Services Passport Issuance Process.

Press Release / For Immediate Release.

3 February 2023

On 6 October 2022, when Benita Ezumezu walked into the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) headquarters office in Abuja for her biometric capturing, after meeting all the required conditions as stipulated by the law, she had no idea that 16 weeks down the line, she will have no passport in sight. After exhausting all avenues to get her passport issued and missing multiple professional development opportunities that require overseas travel, she has no choice but to approach the Court to seek enforcement of her fundamental rights which the NIS continues to violate by refusing to issue her passport. She has approached the court to seek an order requesting an immediate issuance of her passport having met all conditions as required by the law and financial compensation for the avoidable losses this ordeal has caused her and her career. The case has been assigned to court 8 of the Federal High Court, Abuja, and fixed on the 7th of March, 2023.

We know that Benita’s plight is similar to hundreds of thousands of Nigerians who continue to suffer immeasurable losses from poor service delivery and corruption within the ranks of the Nigerian Immigration Service officials and their principals. The six weeks collection window is continuously communicated by the NIS officials as the expected service timeline has not been adhered to in this instance and many more cases. The continuous delay in the issuance of passports to qualify Nigerians without just cause is unacceptable and the Nigerian Immigration Services, as well as the Minister of the Interior, must be held accountable for this anomaly. The NIS mandate to issue passports is a public service and by all standards should be treated as a commercial transaction because Nigerians are paying for this service. The NIS must be held accountable for continuous failure to meet its obligations to the Nigerian public in this regard.

It is surprising that despite the array of agile productivity-enhancing technology available to the NIS, and billions of Naira in revenue and investment of taxpayers’ money, they continue to disappoint Nigerians, it is time they start paying for these delays. There is simply no excuse for the continuously disappointing service standards except for the fact that the artificial scarcity benefits their NIS officials who encourage the payment of bribes for better and faster service delivery from Nigerians. This can not go on.

Our interest in Benita’s case is not just because she is a staff in our organisation, but primarily because the service quality of the Nigerian Immigration Service has diminished to an all-time low in the last few years. The frustrating experiences of Nigerians seeking to procure international passports in the hands of the NIS officials must be stopped.

We call on the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to begin an immediate investigation into the Nigerian Immigration Services policies, practices and treatment of Nigerians who paid the service to issue passports and remain frustrated and denied their right to an acceptable standard of service. The NIS’s disposition towards passport issuance can not continue the way it is. Our hope is that Benita’s case will serve as a test case for Nigerians and create the needed awareness that spotlights necessary reform to the process and procedure of passport issuance.

We believe the Judiciary remains an option of last resort in any effort to access service with any government agency and hope that the Judiciary will help the claimant with her fundamental rights and frustration to get a passport, what’s the hope of the common Nigerians. It is important to use Benitas’ experience to highlight the plight of Nigerians and spotlight the Nigerian Immigration Service’s continued failure to deliver on its mandate.

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About CitizensCommon

Citizens’ Common Advocacy International is a citizen action organisation, committed to empowering everyday citizens to take social action targeted at solving small and big societal challenges using the power of community, collaboration, innovation and technology. Through our Community Impact Spaces, we provide the platform to incubate social ideas, engage in community dialogue, explore policy solutions, resource social entrepreneurs, civic leaders and community activists in their resolve to find innovative solutions to social problems. We are an emerging social impact organisation committed to resourcing a generation of social changemakers in their effort to hold the government accountable, promote active citizen participation, and make democracy work for the people. Our interventions are targeted as promoting the principles of a democratic, just, peaceful and thriving society, ensuring accountable governance and open government, advancing citizens’ rights and civic engagement, activating citizen action for social impact makers and promoting the success of sustainable development goals locally. Our LegalCommons programming provides opportunities to use the instrumentation of the law to provide increased political and social accountability, expand access to justice and capacity building to citizens and legal practitioners.

Legal Commons is a legal innovation and access to justice project of CitizenCommons. Through the LegalCommons Connect we nurture a virtual and physical community of legal practitioners, activists, media professionals and everyday citizens to activate collective action and innovation and access to justice, human rights and socio-economic rights. Our LegalCommons Hub – provides a co-working space for new attorneys, an event space, and a community legal resource centre. We leverage technology and collaboration, use the instrumentation of the law to shape policy, expand access to social services, protect citizens’ rights, hold the government accountable, and make public officeholders work for the people they serve.