The Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has disclosed that a Ugandan woman was arrested at Lagos Airport after allegedly paying $1,000 to illegally obtain a Nigerian international passport.
Speaking at the Ministry of Interior’s mid-tenure performance retreat in Abuja, Tunji-Ojo said the incident exposed the deep-seated abuse that had plagued Nigeria’s passport issuance process prior to ongoing reforms.
“A Ugandan woman carrying a Nigerian passport was arrested at Lagos Airport after paying $1,000 to procure it,” the minister revealed. “That cannot continue. Our passport must remain a true symbol of Nigerian identity.”
He explained that the fraudulent practice thrived due to weak oversight, decentralised approvals, and a long-standing culture of corruption within the system.
“There was a time when some Passport Control Officers had so much power, they could delay or withhold approvals until they were ‘settled’. That abuse of power ends now,” Tunji-Ojo declared.
The minister noted that the federal government had overhauled the system by removing passport approval powers from individual officers and centralising the process to reduce human interference.
Tunji-Ojo’s statement coincided with the Federal Government’s announcement of a new passport fee structure, effective September 1, 2025. Under the new fees, a 32-page, five-year passport will cost N100,000, while the 64-page, 10-year passport will be N200,000 for applications within Nigeria.
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