A Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) passport intervention exercise in Manchester has reportedly descended into confusion, with Nigerians who arrived for scheduled appointments left waiting for hours amid allegations of poor planning, inadequate staffing and security concerns. GeographicReference
The intervention exercise was organised to address outstanding Nigerian passport applications and renewals in the United Kingdom. According to accounts from applicants at the venue, only a small number of people had been attended to several hours after the exercise began. The situation reportedly escalated when UK police became involved and the Lebanese owner of the venue raised concerns about the arrangement.
One applicant, posting on X, accused the organisers of embarrassing Nigerians in front of UK police and the venue’s Lebanese owner, alleging that the owner said he had not been paid, while also claiming there was no staff and no security at the facility. “He said he hasn’t been paid, no staff, no security. 3 people attended to in 1 hour…”
Another post questioned why the Nigerian government had apparently arranged the passport exercise at a private lounge, describing the situation as an outsourcing failure. The reports have sparked anger among Nigerians in the UK, particularly those who travelled considerable distances, took time off work and made arrangements around the passport intervention exercise.
The incident has also raised questions about the contractual arrangement with the venue, whether the venue owner was paid, the security arrangements and whether sufficient immigration personnel were deployed to handle the number of applicants expected.
As of the latest reports, there has been no official response confirming the alleged non-payment or explaining the reported shortage of staff and security. The controversy is particularly embarrassing because the intervention was intended to ease passport backlogs for Nigerians in the UK.
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