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.
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…”
