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EXCLUSIVE: Nigerians in Philippines accuse embassy of extortion
Nigerian citizens in Philippines have cried out over alleged extortion allegedly being perpetrated by staff of the Nigerian embassy in that country.
The Nigerians cried out with a few of them reaching out to Ripples Nigeria to complain about how the embassy staff were ripping them off at the point of their passport renewal.
One of such Nigerians said “it’s a shameful atrocity being perpetrated by the Nigerian Embassy here in Manila, Philippines”.
He continued that “Several Nigerians seeking to renew their passports are being ripped off and I can substantiate my claim because I’m a victim too. This illicit activity must be exposed!”
According to the Nigerian, whose name has been kept anonymous to protect his identity, whereas the official fee for the passport processing as captured on the Nigerian Immigration Service website is $94.00 (N83,660 at official exchange rate of $890/$) the embassy in the Asian country charges $206.00 (N183,340 at official exchange rate of $890/$).
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The citizen who provided the screenshot of a receipt issued to him by the embassy to back up his claim, added that the Nigerian embassy has also scheduled another passport intervention exercise for the end of this month which he says will present them another opportunity to extort money from Nigerians.
All efforts to get the reaction of the Nigeria Immigration Service were futile as calls and messages to the organisation went unanswered.
Screenshot of payment receipt issued to a Nigerian citizen in Philippines by the Nigerian Embassy:
Highlighted in yellow is the processing fee of ($94.00) on the Nigerian Immigration Service website. https://www.nigeria-manila.org/emb/#/consular/root/consupassport
But the Embassy is charging $206.00.
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