ICPC Seizes 372 Passports From Nigerians Over Visa Scam

By Chuks Okoh
The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission ( ICPC), said Tuesday that it has seized over 372 passports from Nigerians involved in visa scam .
The commission warned that those henceforth caught for such offences would be prosecuted.
The ICPC has mandated the bearers of the passport to within two months collect the seized passports from its headquarters in Abuja , as failure to do that may lead to the black listing of the owners.
Other than black listing , the bearers may be barred from travelling abroad until everyone’s status is verified.
The chairman of ICPC, Ekpo Nta disclosed this in Lagos at a one day seminar on curbing visa scam .
Nta said 372 passports were intercepted based on intelligence information on the illegal activities of unauthorised travel agents and other persons involved in visa procurement scam.
He said the authority is therefore giving the holders of the seized passports to come to the ICPC office in Abuja to pick up their passports ,else they would be handed over to the Nigerian Immigration Services, which could bar them from travelling abroad.
He cautioned unwary travellers from patronising touts at embassies in the visa acquisition process, even as he urged the embassies to streamline and simply the online visa acquisition process.
The ICPC chairman said :” I want to use this opportunity to invite Nigerians whose passports are seized fro. Different agents by ICPC to visit the commission’s headquarters in Abuja and collect their passports within the next two months .
Failure to do so would result in ICPC handing over the passports to the Immigration Service for further necessary action which might include black listing of the bearers of these passports and barring them from travelling abroad until their status are verified .”
He called on embassies and high commissions in Nigeria to sanitise their visa processes and entrench a culture of integrity in the visa acquisition process in Nigeria .
He said : ” The imposition of unreasonable procedures by some embassies seem to have exacerbated the already complicated visa acquisition process which tend to promote corruption – prone processes by unofficial cartels within and outside the embassies.
This seminar is part of further intervention in restoring sanity and integrity in important sectors of our nation . We have now turned our searchlight on visa procurement process .
We are reading awareness on how to acquire visas in a transparent manner and helping to eradicate corruption – prone processes .”