Nigerians Protest Delays As Immigration Passport Intervention Begins In Manchester

Nigerians in the United Kingdom have expressed frustration over alleged delays and poor organisation at the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) passport intervention centre in Manchester.

The intervention, scheduled to run from September 7 to 19, 2026, was launched to clear backlogs involving new passport applications, renewals and pending cases.

However, some applicants complained that despite booking appointments and making payments online, they were left waiting for hours after arriving at the centre.

One attendee, posting from the venue, said applicants who arrived as early as 9am were still waiting without meaningful progress by 11:30am.

“It is now 11:30 a.m., and people who arrived as early as 9:00 a.m. are still waiting, with nothing happening,” the post said.

The complaints reportedly extended into the afternoon, with claims that only about 12 people had been attended to by 2pm.

Another account said some applicants had arrived as early as 5am, while elderly Nigerians had travelled from cities including Aberdeen to access the service.

The situation prompted calls for better planning and organisation of passport intervention exercises, particularly given that similar complaints were reportedly raised during previous interventions.

A Nigerian community advocate known as the Oluomo of Derby described the situation as unacceptable, saying applicants had taken time off work, travelled long distances and paid for services that should be delivered efficiently.

“This is not the way to treat Nigerians who have taken time off work, travelled long distances, and paid for passport services,” he said.

He called for improved logistics, communication and crowd management.

“We need proper planning, better organisation, clear communication, and an efficient system that respects people’s time and dignity,” he said.

The situation allegedly became more embarrassing when UK police and the owner of the facility were reportedly involved.

The complainant alleged that the facility owner claimed he had not been paid, while there were also concerns about inadequate staffing and security.

“You successfully embarrassed us in front of the UK police and a Lebanese owner because of your incompetence,” the post said.

The development has renewed concerns among Nigerians in the UK about the effectiveness of special passport intervention exercises, with affected applicants urging the NIS and relevant authorities to urgently improve coordination and service delivery.

The intervention is expected to continue until September 19, with applicants hoping that the reported operational difficulties will be resolved to enable the backlog-clearing exercise to meet its objective.