The Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Kemi Nandap, has stated that disciplinary measures are underway against officers involved in unlawfully issuing Nigerian green passports to foreign nationals.
Speaking on Wednesday at the opening of a three-day workshop for passport control officers at the NIS headquarters in Abuja, Nandap said, “We will ensure they are prosecuted. They won’t go unpunished—this will no longer be tolerated.”
The training, themed “Strengthening Identity Management Through Innovations in Passport Administration,” highlighted the need for rigorous vetting in passport issuance. Nandap stressed that the process must be guided by integrity, efficiency, and strict adherence to set timelines.
Her remarks come in the wake of multiple revelations by the NIS uncovering fraudulent acquisition of Nigerian passports by non-citizens—many of whom reportedly used them for criminal activities or illegal migration.
A House of Representatives investigation in 2022 uncovered around 7,000 suspected cases over five years, including evidence of passport trafficking to human smuggling networks operating in Europe and the Gulf region.
The controversy re-emerged in March when Interpol flagged 27 fake Nigerian passports intercepted at European airports. These documents were traced back to two enrollment centres in Lagos and Kano.
Nandap reminded officers that the issuance of a passport signifies the NIS’s official confirmation of the bearer’s Nigerian citizenship. She urged them to approach this responsibility with the utmost care, warning that any lapse could have serious national security implications.
