US-based Nigerian recounts spending over ₦1m to renew passport, Immigration Service reacts

A United States-based Nigerian, Sage Vincent Ike, has alleged that he spent more than ₦1 million renewing his Nigerian passport due to delays, repeated payments and administrative bottlenecks.

Ike made the claim in a series of posts on X, where he detailed what he described as a frustrating four-month process that disrupted his travel plans and caused significant financial losses.

According to him, he applied for a passport renewal in March 2026 ahead of the expiration of his passport in May and in preparation for planned trips to Japan, South Korea and Nigeria.

He said his biometric appointment was scheduled for March 19 at the Nigerian Consulate in Atlanta, Georgia. However, after travelling about three hours from North Carolina, he allegedly discovered that the consulate had been closed for the Eid-el-Fitr holiday without prior notice.

“I drove three hours from North Carolina, only to arrive and discover the Consulate was closed for the Salah holiday. There was no email notification, no website update on Google office hours, no text, and my appointment still showed March 19,” he wrote.

Ike said he eventually completed his biometric capture on March 27 and paid $230 for a 10-year passport, including the correction of an error in the arrangement of his names.

According to him, he was later required to pay an additional $50 for the passport to be mailed despite providing a self-addressed envelope, bringing his total payment in the United States to $280.

He further claimed that months passed without receiving the passport despite repeated attempts to contact the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, and the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.

Frustrated by the delay, Ike said he sought help in Nigeria and spent an additional ₦460,000 in efforts to process another passport before his arrival.

He also alleged that a family friend was asked to pay $150 before the passport could be released on his behalf, despite already having authorization to collect the document.

To have the passport delivered to Nigeria, Ike said he paid another $176.35 through DHL, adding that hotel bills, feeding expenses and flight rescheduling costs further increased his losses.

He eventually received the passport on July 22 and returned to the United States on July 24.

“Beyond the money is the emotional toll of ‘Nigeria has happened to me’ the uncertainty, frustration and helplessness of watching fully paid international trips lost because of administrative inefficiency,” Ike stated.

Reacting to the allegations, the Nigeria Immigration Service apologised for the inconvenience and emotional distress experienced by the applicant.

“The Nigeria Immigration Service regrets the inconvenience and emotional distress this experience may have caused you. Kindly accept our sincere apologies,” the agency said in a post on X.

The Service explained that duplicate passport applications are subjected to strict verification procedures to safeguard the integrity of the passport issuance process. It also described the alleged $150 payment for third-party passport collection as illegal.

“We also wish to state that the payment of $150 for the secondary collection of a passport is illegal. Applicants are strongly advised not to patronise touts or unauthorised third parties.

“A duly signed letter of authorisation from the applicant is sufficient to enable collection by an authorised representative,” the agency added.