Headline

Why 110,000 Passports Remained Uncollected – Immigration Service

Published

3 years ago

January 11, 2023

The Nigeria Immigration Service NIS has disclosed that it has no fewer than 110,000 passports lying in its vaults, with their owners not coming forward to collect them.

According to the Service, about 60 percent of passport applicants go through third parties who usually input wrong details during the application.

Service Spokesman, DCI Tony Akuneme disclosed this in a statement issued Wednesday in Abuja.

He said; “The NIS wishes to inform Nigerians that there are a total of 110, 000 uncollected passports in the 36 states of the country plus FCT.

“For this reason, the CGI has dispatched very senior officers of the rank of Assistant Comptrollers General to the various Zones and ensure these uncollected Passports are distributed to their owners.

“Nigerians are equally advised to go to the Passport offices where they applied for Passports and check as over 60% Passport applications are completed by third parties who input wrong contact information for their ‘clients’.

“We encourage Nigerians to endeavor to fill their Passport applications by themselves”.

In the statement, Comptroller General of Immigration Service, Isah Jere Idris, also reassured Nigerians that the passport reform process is still in progress, especially the fast track programme designed specifically for those who returned from different parts of the globe for the Yuletide.

The CGI stated this in Kano on Wednesday, when he commissioned an enhanced e-Passport production facility.

Represented by the ACG Passport, Sadat Hassan, the CGI said he was particularly happy with the positive feedbacks from the various Passport offices across the country, which shows that our people appreciate the novel initiative.

“We intend to keep the two weeks processing timeframe open to all diasporas until January 31st when the program will come to an end”, he said.

The CGI added that the NIS is still committed to issuing Passports between three to six weeks, post biometric capture, where there are no technical hitches or application irregularities such as inconsistencies in the National Identification Number NIN of applicants.

He emphasized that NIN remains mandatory for the issuance of Passports and that information in both documents must match.

“We reiterate our official position that Passport applicants should please avoid using third parties but go online and make their applications/payments themselves at passport.immigration.gov.ng

“We continue to deal with the challenges of recalcitrant touts as well as few bad eggs amongst the personnel who are bent on sabotaging the reform process”, he stated.

The CGI warned the public against the nefarious activities of this racketeering syndicate who have gone a step further to even circulate fake news of Immigration recruitment exercise.

The NIS he said, is not recruiting at this moment and will always publish such recruitment as usual, anytime we secure Federal Government approval for recruitment.

VANGUARD

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Headline

Indian Court Denies Bail To Nigerian Man Over Drug Charges

Published

2 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

A court in India has denied bail to a 44-year-old Nigerian national, Cristian Soporuchukwu, who is currently facing drug trafficking charges in the country.

Cristian Soporuchukwu initially entered India on a business visa but was later arrested over allegations of involvement in the sale of hard drugs.

Reports indicated that after arriving in India, Soporuchukwu travelled through Goa, Delhi, and Mumbai, where he allegedly established links with suspected drug traffickers.

He was accused of purchasing MDMA crystals and distributing them to college students and information technology workers.

According to reports, operatives of the Beguru Police arrested Cristian Soporuchukwu in April 2025 for allegedly selling MDMA crystals around Begur Lake and the AECS Layout Road area.

The New Indian Express reported that the High Court of Karnataka subsequently dismissed the Nigerian’s bail application.

“The anti-narcotics wing seized about 1 kg of MDMA crystals, a pocket weighing machine, 10 zip-lock covers, a mobile phone and a scooter from him,” the report stated.

Justice V. Srishananda, while ruling on the bail application, reportedly held that errors relating to the grounds of arrest could not automatically justify bail in serious narcotics-related offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, NDPS, Act.

The court further noted that Cristian Soporuchukwu had allegedly overstayed his visa in India, according to the report.

Headline

Strait Of Hormuz: US Announces Sanctions Against Iran

Published

2 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States Treasury has announced sanctions against Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority.

Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said this in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement extended the threat of sanctions to anyone paying the fees, saying they may be providing support to and receiving services from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and therefore may be exposed to sanctions risk.

“The Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash.

“Treasury has deprived the Iranian regime of revenue for their weapons programs, terrorist proxies, and nuclear ambitions,” Bessent said.

Bessent added that the US has succeeded in disrupting tens of billions of dollars’ worth of revenue from being accessible to Tehran.

Headline

US Launches New Airstrikes On Iran

Published

2 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States has launched new airstrikes in southern Iran.

The strike shot down four one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz and then a ground control site.

A US official revealed that American forces struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.

The official described the strikes as purely defensive, saying the US intended to maintain the ceasefire.

Report says this is the second time in three days that the US has carried out self-defense strikes against Iranian military targets in southern Iran.

Recall that on Monday the US carried out airstrikes against Iranian missile locations and boats that US Central Command said were preparing to launch mines in the Strait of Hormuz.