The High Commission has been able to identify and break the gang of Nigerian passport racketeers in London
By Milton Tella – His Excellency, Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola, the new Nigeria High Commissioner, upon resumption for duty early May, has hit the ground running with special emphasis on improving the image of the Mission.
Chief among the challenges he confronted is the backlog of passport applicants awaiting biometrics capture due to Covid-19 lockdown. The Mission increased the number of appointment slots from 150 pre COVID to over 300 people per day in order to reduce the backlog. In additional, the High Commissioner also re-introduced the fast track service where people who need their passport urgently can obtain £100 postal order and turn up without prior appointment and they receive their passport by post within three days. This singular gesture has so far been a huge success as it has eliminated touts who hitherto extort money from unsuspecting Nigerians in the name of passport appointment.
The dedicated staff of the immigration department work tirelessly to attend to all applicants, who throng to the Mission daily, by extending their work hours.
African Voice correspondent at the High Commission said, “The fast track service which commenced on Monday 24 May 2021 is going according to plan. It has been well received by the Nigerian community in the UK; it is obvious many applicants want this quick service. The applicants we spoke with expressed appreciation.”
One of the Administrative Officers at the Immigration department of the High commission said, it is obviously an additional responsibility for the staff deployed to the immigration department as more people are admitted because of the fast track. The stress is there but we are all getting on with it. The situation is temporary and as soon as the backlog is cleared things will come back to normal. We welcome the re-introduction of the fast track service by His Excellency as it freezes out touts who collect money from unsuspecting applicants in the name of the High Commission thereby giving the Mission a bad name.
The Administrative officer added, “The week commencing from the 24th May has witnessed a large turn out of applicants every day, which is understandable because of the backlog. Nigerians are enjoined to be patient with the pace because of the unique situation we find ourselves in.”
When asked how the department is coping with Covid-19 protocols in view of the large turnout. He said, “The Mission allows applicants to enter in batches with a face mask only to be removed when taking a biometric picture. Physical distancing is encouraged where possible and hand sanitisers are available for applicants and staff to use.”
In a statement released by the Nigeria High Commission London made available to African Voice, in the few weeks since assumption of duties, the High Commissioner, Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola, has come to grip with the incessant allegations of corruption and other negative reports on the issuance of the Nigerian passport in London.
Following a strategic meeting on Wednesday 19th May 2021, the High Commission was able to identify and break the gang of passport racketeers in London. The Mission also discovered that 18 innocent Nigerians paid between £200 and £350 to racketeers in their desire to urgently acquire or renew Nigerian passports. Unfortunately, the racketeers issued them with forged documents with a promise to assist the applicants through a “non- existent Abuja list “in the Mission. The Mission sympathises with the victims, whilst admonishing our fellow countrymen and women to always avail themselves with official channels in the Mission for assistance on compassionate grounds and desist from patronizing unofficial agents/touts. The Mission will continue to investigate possible in-house collaborators for appropriate disciplinary action.
Consequently, the Mission has reviewed its activities during this period and acknowledges the need to attend to Nigerians who have urgent reasons to renew their Passports. In this regard, the Mission has resumed the Fast-Track Services in line with global best practices. Furthermore, to curb touting and racketeering, the following measures has been put in place:
The High Commission will embark on continuous processing of applications and dates of appointments in line with the current practice. An administrative charge of £20 on all passport processing has also been introduced.
To resume the £100 (One Hundred Pounds) Fast Track service with effect from Monday, 24th May 2021. All payment must be in postal orders clearly addressed to the Nigeria High Commission, London for transparency and accountability purposes. To book for Fast Track service visit http://www.nigeriahc.org.uk/fasttrackservices/
The statement further reads: We shall continue to adopt extra vigilance to discover and eliminate corrupt actions associated with Passport application and processing in the Mission. This is in line with the zero tolerance of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration as clearly spelt out in the Mission’s Charter.
Future reports of corrupt practices must be fact based with evidence and devoid of frivolous innuendos and allegations. This will assist the Mission in this onerous task of anti-corruption drive. Mission seeks the cooperation of the public to report anyone aiding and abetting corrupt practices to this email address publiccomplaints@nigeriahc.org.uk.
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