The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has reacted to a publication on the Instagram page of an online platform known as Wakanowdotcom offering possible assistance to prospective passport applicants to procure various categories of passports for them at certain sums of money.
In its denial of such arrangement, the NIS said that it has not authorized Wakanowdotcom to charge and procure passports for any applicant at such frivolous sums and that none of their passports cost as much as the outrageous amounts stated in the said publication.
This disclosure is contained in a disclaimer issued by NIS and signed by its Public Relations Officer, Sunday James.
According to the statement, the publication stated that the organization can procure passports for prospective applicants at N57,000 for 64-page five years validity passport and N95,000 for 64-page ten years validity passport.
The statement from the NIS partly reads, ‘’The attention of the Comptroller General of Immigration Service, Muhammad Babandede MFR has been drawn to a certain publication on the Instagram page of one online platform known as Wakanowdotc.com offering possible assistance to prospective passport applicants to procure various categories of passports for them at given sums of money
‘’The publication stated that the organization can procure the following categories of passports for prospective applicants at the sums indicated;
- 64-Page Five Years validity passport at the sum of N57,000:00
- 64-page Ten Years Validity Passport at the sum of N95,000:00
‘’We wish to state categorically that Wakanowdotcom has no authorization whatsoever from us to charge and procure passports for any applicant at such frivolous sums and that none of our passports cost as much as the outrageous amounts stated in the said publication.’’
The statement pointed out that the Comptroller General wishes to advise prospective passport applicants to kindly visit immigration.gov.ng to apply and pay online for the various categories of passports of their choice and avoid patronizing touts and or organizations who are out there to defraud them of their hard-earned money on the guise of procuring passports for them.
