By IBIRONKE ARIYO

The Comptroller General, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mrs Caroline Adepoju, has ordered investigation into allegations of passport racketeering against personnel of the service in the South East.

The Service Public Relations Officer, Deputy Comptroller of Immigration, Adedotun Aridegbe said this in a statement on Saturday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Passport Control Officers in the region have been accused of charging extra fees in addition to the official fees for obtaining international passports.

Aridegbe said that any officer found culpable would be dealt with as the service would not tolerate any form of misconduct or improper behaviour.

“The attention of the NIS has been drawn to a report of allegations of misconduct against the personnel of the service over passport racketeering.

“As part of efforts to rid the agency of these bad eggs, an order for immediate probe into the allegations has commenced and anyone found guilty will be sanctioned.

“The CG and the Minister of Interior has given a directive for the investigation of the allegations and that is what we are doing,” he said.

Aridegbe maintained that the guidelines for application for international passport were clearly stated in NIS website.

“We also sent out our customer feedback number: 08028320751 (SPRO), 08067761196 (SA – SERVICOM), and we are not only ready to answer your calls but resolve issues.

“The problem is that Nigerians like to look for shortcut and so they fall into the hands of people who fleece them.

“They prefer to do things through the backdoor. Nigerians need to know that every office opened by the NIS has a duty to serve them, ” he said.

Aridegbe enjoined prospective applicants to visit the NIS official website at immigration.gov.ng to apply for Passports.

He also urged them to make payments for their preferred passport categories and avoid patronising individuals or entities that request cash payments for passport services. (NAN)

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