By BONIFACE AKARAH

The Foundation for Environmental Rights, Advocacy and Development (FENRAD) has raised concern over reported disruption and centralisation of international passport production services affecting Nigeria’s South-East, calling on the Federal Government and the Nigeria Immigration Service to provide urgent clarification.

In a press statement dated February 10, the group described the development as “an undemocratic, anti-people and regionally discriminatory action” if allowed to persist, alleging that the disruption appears to disproportionately affect citizens in the South-East while services in other regions continue to function.

“Such unequal application of public policy undermines the principles of fairness, equity, and equal citizenship guaranteed under the Nigerian Constitution,” FENRAD said, adding that the situation also runs contrary to protections contained in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

The organisation acknowledged the Federal Government’s stated intention to reform and modernise passport administration nationwide but warned that reforms must not impose hardship on any geopolitical zone. “Reforms that result in unequal access to essential public services cease to be reforms and instead become tools of exclusion and marginalisation,” the statement read.

FENRAD noted that millions of residents in the South-East depend on international mobility for trade, education, healthcare, family reunification, and legitimate business activities, warning that restricted access to passports could harm economic and social wellbeing and violate recognised rights to freedom of movement and equality before the law.

Questioning the rationale behind the reported disruption, the group said compelling citizens of the region to travel long distances to obtain passport services would create unequal burdens and reinforce perceptions of second-class citizenship. It urged authorities to review any administrative restructuring that could undermine constitutional and human-rights protections.

FENRAD further cautioned that, given longstanding concerns about marginalisation in the South-East, government actions affecting the region must be guided by transparency, consultation, and sensitivity to avoid deepening mistrust or social tension.

The organisation called on the Federal Government and the Nigeria Immigration Service to provide immediate public clarification on passport production and issuance in the South-East, restore and maintain full services in the region pending nationwide reforms, apply administrative changes equitably across geopolitical zones, engage civil society before implementing far-reaching policies, and ensure compliance with national and international legal obligations.

Executive Director of FENRAD, Comrade Nelson Nnanna Nwafor, who signed the statement, said Nigerian citizenship “must carry equal value in every part of the country,” warning that any action undermining that equality threatens democracy, national unity, and social justice.

The group said it remains committed to defending equity, dignity, freedom of movement, and equal access to public services, as attention turns to possible government response to the allegations.