The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has opened a fresh investigation into the Nigeria Immigration Service and some of its personnel over allegations of passport racketeering and visa fraud.
The probe is focusing on reports of extortion, bribery and other fraudulent practices linked to passport issuance and visa processing across the country.
According to reports, operatives of the anti-graft agency have been deployed to carry out discreet operations in several immigration offices.
The affected locations include Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt, Lagos, Anambra and other states, as well as major international airports where visa and passport related activities are high.
Sources familiar with the investigation said the Commission received multiple petitions from Nigerians at home and in the diaspora.
The petitioners alleged that they were made to pay inflated fees far above the official charges to obtain international passports and to facilitate visa issuance.
Some applicants also alleged that officials deliberately delayed the process to force them into paying extra money through middlemen and touts operating around immigration offices.
The investigation comes despite ongoing reforms by the Ministry of Interior aimed at sanitizing the passport system.
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, had launched an automated passport application system on January 8, 2024, to eliminate human contact and reduce corruption.
The automated system was introduced to ensure transparency, shorten processing time and stop the exploitation of applicants by unscrupulous officers.
However, complaints have continued to trail the process, with many Nigerians still lamenting extortion at various passport offices and border posts.
In the past, the EFCC had clarified that its investigations were targeted at specific officers and not the leadership of the Service.
The Commission had in a previous statement said it had no case against the Comptroller-General of Immigration, Kemi Nandap, and that its focus remained on officers accused of visa fraud.
The Commission also disclosed at the time that there were subsisting cases of alleged visa fraud against some immigration officers at the Federal High Court.
It added that further investigations were ongoing with the possibility of more officers being arraigned for alleged fraudulent practices.
The latest probe is expected to expand the scope of that investigation to cover passport racketeering as well.
The EFCC is yet to issue an official statement on the current operation, but the development is expected to lead to more arrests and possible prosecutions in the coming weeks.
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