How future Nigerian passport applications are to be handled by computers instead of corrupt humans

The passport automation process when it begins on Monday, 8 January is expected to bring about a “sweet experience” to all Nigerians seeking to either apply as first-timers or when they are attempting a renewal.

Ayodele Johnson January 3, 2024

2 minutes read

Nigerian passport applicants will enjoy access to a computerised experience when preparing to travel to any destination. [Nigeria Immigration Service]

As soon as Nigerians enter the second week of January 2024, passport applications will no longer be the stressful ordeal it once was and that’s because the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) will make provision for the entire process to be run by computers instead of sometimes corrupt human beings.

What this means for applicants is that they won’t have to exhaust precious time which could amount to months of waiting before they can be issued their passport. Interior minister, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo while inspecting NIS facilities on Tuesday made this known.

The automation process when it begins on Monday, 8 January is expected to bring about a “sweet experience” to all Nigerians seeking to either apply as first-timers or when they are attempting a renewal.

In a tweet posted via his X profile, Mr Tunji-Ojo intimated his followers all that would occur as soon as the upper week due date.

“Yesterday, I inspected facilities of the @nigimmigration alongside the Comptroller General of the Service, Wura-Ola Adepoju.

“This is coming ahead of the automation of the passport application process, which will begin from January 8, 2024, where Nigerians will be able to apply and complete their passport application process online without human contact.”

Yesterday, I inspected facilities of the @nigimmigration alongside the Comptroller General of the Service, Wura-Ola Adepoju.
This is coming ahead of the automation of the passport application process, which will begin from January 8, 2024, where Nigerians will be able to apply… pic.twitter.com/GuPWy2nwry
— Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo (@BTOofficial) January 2, 2024

A virtual data-capturing feature is among the tools that the immigration service will rely on to enable the tweak. That would be enabled by a mobile app based on a separate finding submitted by Dr Joe Abah who had visited the Comptroller General to get a full grasp of the contactless process being proposed.

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Dr Abah who served as the director-general of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) from 2013 to 2017, was concerned about graft in the application process. Although the immigration office is working to address this, there was a consensus reached that introducing change may take a while.

What this means for applicants is that they won't have to exhaust precious time which could amount to months of waiting before they can be issued their passport. — What this means for applicants is that they won’t have to exhaust precious time which could amount to months of waiting before they can be issued their passport.

“We discussed their plans [to] minimise human contact in passport processing from next week and a forthcoming innovation to allow virtual capture,” says Dr Abah in an X post highlighting the outcomes of his meeting with the NIS.

“I asked how that would work and she said I should look forward to an app that could be used for renewals.

“We discussed corruption in the service and she was very forthright about the need to change the culture and to isolate and punish the offenders. We both recognised that it would not be easy or quick.”

Ayodele Johnson

Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.