Passport Racketeering: 80 Officers On Trial, 8 Dismissed –NIS

No fewer than 80 officers and men of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) have gone on trial for indulging in the collection of illegal fees for the issuance of new passports and renewal of old ones.

The Service’s Public Relations Officer, Comptroller of Immigration, Mr Tony Akun- eme, who disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja, also indicated that eight other officers have been dismissed from service for the same offence in the last one year.

He said the disciplinary measures under the passport reform were part of the three-point agenda of the present Comptroller General, Isah Jere, when he came on board. Akuneme also said the CG’s three-point agenda includes reforming passport issuance, tightening border security and improving the welfare of NIS officers.