A major controversy has erupted within the Nigeria Immigration Service after officials at the Enugu State Command were accused of running an illegal passport fee racket and punishing officers who resisted the system.
At the centre of the allegations is Deputy Comptroller of Immigration and Passport Control Officer, Angela Nwachukwu Obiora, who has been accused of introducing illegal “commitment” and “express processing” charges despite the Federal Government’s passport centralisation reforms meant to curb corruption and improve transparency.
According to insiders, passport applicants were allegedly forced to pay an unofficial ₦7,000 “commitment fee” after already paying official government charges, alongside another ₦20,000 for what was described as “express processing.”
Sources claimed applicants who refused to pay the extra charges allegedly had their passport applications delayed or withheld from being forwarded to Abuja for production.
The situation reportedly created tension within the Enugu command, as several officers of Enugu origin allegedly resisted participating in the collections and refused to enforce the illegal charges on applicants.
Leaked internal documents from the NIS Zone G Headquarters in Benin City later revealed the sudden transfer of more than 50 officers from the Enugu command to other states including Anambra, Delta, Bayelsa, Edo and the zonal headquarters.
Insiders alleged the transfers were designed to weaken resistance against the alleged extortion system and remove officers seen as whistleblowers.
Several senior officers, including Chief Superintendents, Superintendents, Deputy Superintendents and Assistant Superintendents of Immigration, were affected by the redeployment exercise.
The controversy deepened after claims emerged that the Passport Control Officer allegedly justified the illegal charges by telling applicants that the Enugu office does not receive enough operational funding from headquarters in Abuja.
However, Angela Obiora denied all allegations of extortion and insisted she had no authority over staff postings.
In her response, she dismissed the accusations as an attempt to damage her reputation and warned against making claims without proper evidence.
Meanwhile, Assistant Comptroller General in charge of Zone G, Chilaka, defended the transfers, insisting they were routine administrative measures meant to prevent officers from remaining too long in one command.
She argued that long stays in a single location often encourage the formation of internal cabals and weaken discipline within the service.
According to her, the decision to post the affected officers within southern states was actually done to protect them from deployments to volatile northern states battling insecurity.
The allegations have sparked fresh concerns over corruption, transparency and welfare issues within Nigeria’s passport administration system, especially as the Federal Government continues efforts to reform public service operations.