A pro-democracy and civil rights advocacy group on the aegis of ‘Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA)” has demanded an urgent and comprehensive reform of Nigeria’s passport issuance system.
HURIWA’s concerns followed allegations over alleged issuance of a second passport to an Abuja-based realtor, Rebecca Godwin-Isaac, while her original passport was reportedly in the custody of the Federal High Court.
It stressed that the alleged issuance of a fresh passport while another document remains under court custody should not be treated as an isolated administrative error, stressing that it could expose a deeper weakness in the country’s identity-management and immigration-control system.
HURIWA in a statement signed by Emmanuel Onwubiko, national coordinator, noted that the controversy raises serious questions about the integrity, security and accountability of the Nigerian passport system, thus said that the Federal Government must immediately reform, standardise and enforce fool-proof procedures that make it impossible for anyone to obtain multiple passports through questionable processes.
It further stated the lawyers handling the matter allege that Godwin-Isaac reported an earlier passport with number B00485650 missing or stolen and subsequently obtained a new one with number B51450551.
HURIWA further said that the lawyers also alleged that the second passport was processed through a “non-appearance/no-show” procedure and therefore raised questions on how the Nigeria Immigration Service allegedly issued another passport while the earlier document remained in court custody.
The Rights group stated that the allegations must be independently investigated, stressing that a passport is not an ordinary identity document, but a sovereign document issued in the name of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
HURIWA said that it is particularly concerned by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo’s own warning that foreigners may be using Nigerian passports to commit crimes abroad.
It noted that the Interior minister recently acknowledged that the use of Nigerian passports by non-Nigerians is causing international embarrassment and disclosed plans to strengthen verification of citizenship before passports are issued.
HURIWA said the minister’s admission makes the latest passport controversy even more troubling, adding that if the Federal Government is already aware that non-Nigerians can allegedly obtain Nigerian passports through fraudulent means, it wondered why the Nigeria Immigration Service has not blocked the loopholes that make such abuse possible.
HURIWA therefore demanded to know whether the NIS has a central system capable of immediately identifying every valid passport issued to an applicant.
It further said; “Why even with multiple chain of national identification system in Nigeria uploaded and managed by the National Identity management Commission (NIMC), the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) allow non-Nigerians to obtain Nigerian international passports which constitutes a grave threat to our national security interest”.
HURIWA also asked if the Nigerian Immigration authorities have an effective mechanism for flagging passports surrendered to courts, cancelled, reported stolen or declared missing.
It therefore called for a full audit of the circumstances surrounding the disputed passport and several other cases, including the identity verification, biometric records, application trail, approving officers and the circumstances under which the document was allegedly issued.
HURIWA further demands that any immigration officer found to have violated established procedures should face appropriate disciplinary and criminal action where evidence of wrongdoing is established.
