Idris Jere, the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Immigration Service, has received praise for upholding justice when eight personnel of the Nigerian Immigration Service were fired for extortion.
The travellers and passport holders praised the CGIS for the harsh punishments given to the NIS members who violated the rules.
They added that it had long been anticipated in their conversation with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos on Monday.
According to NAN, a statement released on November 4, 2022 and signed by Kenneth Kure, a Chief Superintendent of Immigration in the NIS Public Relations Unit, announced the firing of the eight employees.
A hundred employees of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos State were reportedly redeployed, according to the statement.
It said also that 18 other personnel had been sanctioned for various offences ranging from gross misconduct to employment racketeering and other forms of corrupt practices.
The report said that the sack and the redeployment followed the approval granted by the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board.
The CDCFIB noted that “the conducts of the personnel have remained grossly unbecoming and unacceptable as members of the Service”.
NAN reports that in October, a traveller, with the Twitter handle: @derby—, narrated her ugly experience at the airport in Lagos, accusing some officials of the agency of alleged extortion and bribery.
The traveller, who displayed the picture of one of the accused in her tweets, said the officers lied to her that because she was not yet 40 years old, she would not be allowed into the United Arab Emirates.
The lady, who alleged she parted with some amount of money as a bribe, then advised intending young travellers to be wary of unscrupulous people at the airport.
A traveller, Anthony Nworah, said the NIS should have introduced such punitive measures before the incident that led to the sack of some of its personnel.
According to Nworah, some personnel always outsmart policies to ensure passports are procured by potential seekers at unofficial rates.
“However, I commend Jere for being upright and for ensuring that the culprits paid the price for greed,” he said.
A banker, Akehinde Bello, who works with one of the new-generation banks, decried how his international passport was not released to him after he had paid the approved amount.
Bello, while commending CGIS Jere, said that there was a need for the management of NIS to fish out other bad eggs within the system.
Also, Ada Agbomoagan, a mother of two, whose son is studying in the United States of America, applauded the CIGS’ move.
Agbomoagan said she was the happiest upon hearing the news.
She said: “My daughter always travels with extra cash.
“Some officers see immigration work as a business rather than service to their fatherland.”
Another passport seeker, Ganiyu Ero, urged NIS to release always information that would guide passport seekers from making mistakes that NIS officers could capitalise on while providing services for them.