The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) processed and issued a total of at least 9.31 million passports from 2015 to 2022. In 2022 alone, the service processed over 1.8 million passports. This information was disclosed by the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, during the 64th session of the State House Ministerial briefing organized by the Presidential Communications Team at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja.
A breakdown of the passport issuance reveals that in 2015, 941,995 passports were processed, followed by 1,035,668 in 2016 and 1,136,855 in 2017. The numbers continued to rise, with 1,242,953 passports processed in 2018, and 780,047 in 2019. In 2021, the NIS issued 1,056,422 passports, and the following year saw a significant increase, with 1,899,683 passports processed in 2022.
Despite these figures, findings by The report indicate that over 148,000 passports have been awaiting collection nationwide since 2020. NIS Public Relations Officer Anthony Akuneme addressed this issue in an interview, noting that the service has struggled to reach the owners of these passports, many of whom provided incorrect contact details during registration. To address the backlog, Comptroller-General Isa Idris has deployed a team of senior officers across the country to locate the owners of the abandoned passports. Akuneme emphasized that any passports whose owners cannot be contacted by the end of this initiative will not be destroyed, as they remain the property of the Federal Government. More details will follow.
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