Onoja Baba
In a stark contradiction to the Nigeria Immigration Service’s (NIS) recent proclamations of a corruption-free, lightning-fast passport system, an anonymous applicant has laid bare a harrowing tale of bureaucratic sabotage and backdoor dealings that have left him stranded for over three months, his travel dreams derailed by an application gathering dust in the system’s shadows.
The applicant, a middle-aged professional from northern Nigeria who spoke exclusively to SecretsReporters on condition of anonymity for fear of victimization from immigration officials, submitted his passport application on August 28, 2025, via the official online portal. He secured an appointment at the NIS Headquarters in Sauka, Abuja, for September 5, where he dutifully presented his vetted forms, payment receipts, and supporting documents. “I followed every step to the letter. No shortcuts, no questions asked. But here I am, in January 2026, still checking the portal daily, only to see ‘processing’ staring back at me like a bad joke,” he recounted in a hushed phone interview, his voice laced with frustration.
What makes his ordeal particularly galling is the fate of a former neighbour who applied on the exact same day. That individual, the applicant revealed, received his passport within weeks, not through diligence, but by slipping an undisclosed sum to a mid-level officer at the Abuja office.
On December 6, last year, Comptroller-General Kemi Nandap declared an end to the “extortion, procedural delays, and physical bottlenecks” that once plagued the process. Speaking at a nationwide anti-corruption sensitization campaign in Abuja, Nandap hailed digital overhauls, including automated applications, biometric verification, and real-time tracking—as ushering in “a new era of transparency,” with command centers nationwide reporting “shorter waiting times, clearer procedures, and improved customer experience.” “By digitising our operations, we have not only enhanced transparency, but also ensured that our services meet the expectations of citizens,” she asserted, crediting the reforms with closing “avenues for extortion” through minimal physical interactions.
Yet, the ground reality tells a different story. The applicant’s saga unfolds against a backdrop of NIS’s much-vaunted September 18 launch of a Centralized Passport Personalisation Centre in Abuja, which officials promised would catapult daily production from a paltry 300 booklets to 5,000, processing times slashed from two weeks to just one. Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, presiding over the unveiling, described it as a “long-awaited achievement” aligning Nigeria with global powerhouses like the UK, US, and France, complete with cutting-edge automation to “boost efficiency and restore public confidence.” By July 2025, the service had already issued over 3.5 million passports, a milestone celebrated as proof of the system’s renaissance.
But for many, these figures ring hollow. SecretsReporters uncovered a pattern of complaints echoing the applicant’s plight, particularly from Nigerians abroad, where delays in passport renewals have sparked urgent pleas for intervention. On December 2, diaspora groups, including the International Advocacy for Human Rights and Anti-Corruption and Concerned Nigerians in Germany, demanded federal action on “prolonged delays and additional travel burdens,” citing “systemic obstacles” and “inconsistent fees” that hint at exploitation. “Many applicants reported systemic obstacles that make timely processing extremely difficult,” their joint statement warned, calling for full digitalization and embassy-based mobile units to bypass the chaos.
Even as NIS rolls out temporary social media channels for complaints, launched December 9 amid a platform suspension, these stopgaps underscore ongoing glitches. On December 12, the service announced a 54-hour shutdown of its passport portal for “routine maintenance,” potentially stranding thousands more in limbo. Users are now funneled to ad-hoc X handles like @InquireAtNaija for redress, but skeptics question whether this addresses root causes or merely papers over cracks.
The rot runs deeper, rooted in a history of sabotage despite reforms. A 2022 probe by The Cable exposed how the 2019 e-passport portal, meant to curb forgery and middlemen, failed to stem bribe demands, with officials hoarding booklets and inventing fees for non-compliant applicants. “It’s kind of absurd,” one victim told investigators then, after months of back-and-forth for refusing to pay up. Fast-forward to August 2025, when a passport fee hike, from N35,000 to N100,000 for a standard booklet—was defended as a bulwark against corruption, with officials vowing to end the “cash-and-carry” era by stripping officers of discretionary powers. Presidential aide Temitope Ajayi even blamed applicants and rogue officers for necessitating the increase, claiming it would “restore integrity.”
These revelations come as NIS faces mounting scrutiny. In October 2023, the service pledged sanctions for racketeering personnel, yet follow-through has been spotty.