The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Ondo State Command Passport Office says it has apprehended two women and an alleged male accomplice who are suspected of engaging in passport fraud.
The suspects, identified as Etaoghere Cyril, Okunika Joy, and Adehaka Blessing, were publicly presented at the command’s headquarters in Akure on Monday.
Parading the apprehended suspects, the Command Public Relations Officer, Deputy Superintendent Oladapo Bayode, disclosed that the suspects had been charging exorbitant fees for various passport types, including N80,500 for a 32-page, five-year validity passport; N100,500 for a 64-page, five-year validity passport; and N165,000 for a 64-page, 10-year validity passport.
These fees were found to be significantly higher than the officially published costs of passports on the NIS website.
The arrests came as a response to a series of complaints from the public, to the intent that unscrupulous individuals were taking advantage of previous inefficiencies in passport administration to defraud unsuspecting citizens.
In an effort to expose and apprehend such criminal activities, an officer from the Passport Control Office (PCO) went undercover to pose as a civilian seeking to obtain a passport at the suspects’ office.
The officer was provided with immigration documents to collect personal data for a passport application, ultimately leading to the arrest of the racketeers.
Deputy Superintendent Oladapo Bayode stressed that a Nigerian passport issued by the Nigeria Immigration Service is not a commodity subject to bargaining and should not be processed by agents on behalf of the NIS.
He also emphasized that the days of long waits to obtain Nigerian passports are over, citing a directive from the Minister of Interior to expedite the process.
Bayode urged citizens in the state and surrounding areas to apply for passports directly at the Nigeria Immigration Service, Akure Passport Office along Igbatoro Road, Alagbaka, Akure. He warned residents to be cautious of fraudulent individuals claiming to be agents.
Bayode further highlighted that the Acting Comptroller General of Immigration, Caroline Wuraola Adepoju, had declared a state of emergency in passport administration, leading to the elimination of existing backlogs and ensuring that genuine applicants receive their passports within two weeks, as directed by the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
The suspects are now slated to be handed over to the Nigeria Police for further investigation.
