The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) says about 80
officers have gone on trial over the collection of illegal fees for the
issuance and renewal of passports.
Speaking with NAN on Sunday, Tony Akuneme, NIS spokesperson,
said eight officers have been dismissed in connection to the offence in the
last year.
He said the disciplinary measures are part of the
three-point reform agenda of Isah Jere, NIS comptroller general (CG).
Akuneme said the CG’s three-point agenda includes passport
issuance reform, tightening border security and improving the welfare of NIS
officers.
The NIS spokesman said the CG has vowed to discipline
officers who try to sabotage the reform process.
“We have continued to punish NIS officers and men who try to
assist people for a fee. You can assist people genuinely but not extorting from
them,” he said.
“We are committed to curbing corruption and other illicit
acts in the service. You will appreciate the fact that if nothing else, the
level of awareness has increased in the last few months.
“Don’t patronise
agents, fill your forms yourself. We have officers watching and these agents
know they are being watched. When they take money from you, tell us. If we
don’t take action, tell the world.”
He said employing the services of third-party agents in
securing passports hinders the reform process.
“We have tried as much as possible to eliminate third
parties so that if you really want, you can process the application of your
passport from the comfort of your room on your laptop, android phones and you
can pay online,” Akuneme said.
“You don’t really need anybody whether immigration officers
or agents which we usually call louts. They have upgraded and become agents.
They are still third parties.
“The problem we have
is the use of third parties because no matter how much reform you put in, you
will always see a learned and civilised person using a third party to process
his or her application.
“And one thing they don’t understand is that third parties
don’t have an idea of the information entered into your application. This can
result in somebody having issues with his/her National Identification Number
(NIN).”
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