Published 23rd Jan, 2022

By Emmanuel Uti

Ukadike (not real name), a graduate student in the US, has accused officers at the Nigerian consulate office in Atlanta, Georgia, of extorting Nigerians and frustrating their efforts to renew their passports.

Ukadike told FIJ he paid a statutory fee of $120 after applying for the renewal of his passport on the consulate’s website in December, but he still had to bribe some officials.

“To be specific, I paid $130 unofficially before they assured me of getting my passport. That was $250 in total to get a passport. They did not give a receipt for the $130 they collected at the consulate, because it was an under-the-table payment. And if you don’t pay it, no one will attend to you,” he told FIJ.

He said he challenged a staff member of the consulate to know why such practice had become the norm, but he was told it was because he had no appointment.

“I asked why there was no appointment, but he said it was because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and they did not want the office to be crowded. The underlining fact is that they do not attend to anyone,” he said.

“Most Nigerians I spoke to living in New York and Washington said the same thing: they will never give you a date for an appointment. They will make you come without an appointment and extort another $130 before they attend to you.”

He further said the unethical practice at the consulate office is coordinated, adding that there is a room reserved for paying illegal fees after which the officers process passports.

Ukadike said the biometric data requirement provided an avenue for extortion.

“Nigeria will require you to go there to have your biometrics captured. The same biometrics they have been capturing all the time,” he lamented.

He said Ghanaians in his school are not required to go to their consulates to have expired passports renewed. According to him, they apply online, pay the fees, and it is renewed and sent to them by post.

When FIJ attempted to contact the consulate office, the phone numbers on their website did not connect. A text message was sent to them, but at press time, they had not responded to it.

FIJ also contacted Geoffrey Onyeama, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, but he did not answer his calls. At press time, he had not responded to the text message sent to his phone.

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