Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the Minister of Interior, has expressed alarm over the alarming number of Nigerian passports held by non-Nigerians, stating that this situation has caused significant international shame and resulted in the erroneous attribution of offenses to Nigerian nationals.
In an appearance on the Morning Show of Arise Television on Wednesday, December 18, the minister highlighted the imperative for pre-data documentation to safeguard the authenticity of Nigeria’s passports, insisting that their reliability is currently compromised.
“A passport represents much more than a travel document; it is a sovereign emblem of the state. It is the property of the Nigerian government,” Tunji-Ojo remarked. He mentioned that more rigorous procedures are being implemented to confirm the nationality of applicants.
“To ensure that you are Nigerian, please upload your certificate of origin, and we have personnel across the 774 localities known as Document Verification Officers (DVOs) who will go to validate those documents.
“The moment you upload, it is transmitted in real-time to the local government from which it derives. They will verify it to affirm that you are a Nigerian applying for a Nigerian passport.”
The minister lamented the harm inflicted by non-Nigerians wielding Nigerian passports and attributed many of the crimes ascribed to Nigerians internationally to these individuals.
“The disgrace that our country suffers from individuals who are not Nigerians but possess Nigerian passports is extraordinary,” he asserted.
“A significant portion of the crimes alleged to be committed by Nigerians abroad, I must stress, often do not involve actual Nigerians. These people are possessing Nigerian passports. If you lack a certificate of origin, how am I to confirm your Nigerian identity? What proof is there to substantiate your claim to Nigerian citizenship?”
Tunji-Ojo underscored the importance of streamlining passport issuance for citizens while upholding national security and the process’s integrity. He pointed out that maintaining data for renewals would negate the necessity for redundant verifications, with citizens needing to upload pre-data documents just once.
“Thus, my goal is to ease the passport process, but not at the cost of national security; not at the expense of the nation’s integrity,” he concluded. “I believe these decisive measures are essential to cleanse the system.”