Absorption urges Tinubu to reverse the increase in passport costs, saying it is ‘arbitrary, violating the law’

SOCIO-ECONOMIC RIGHTS AND ACCOUNTABIEST PROJECT (SERAP) has urged the Tinubu Ball President “to direct the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo and the Compller of the General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Kemi Nanna Nandap to IMRmediately Reverse the Arbitrary, Unlawful, UNJUSTIFIED, AND EXCESSIVE PASSPORT FEES OF BETWEEN N100,000 and N200,000. “

NIS last week announced that starting September 1, 2025, the application made in Nigeria will withdraw the new N100,000 fee for 32-H-HALAY VALIDITY Passports, Five Years and N200,000 for 64 Pages Validity Passports, 10 Years. The unreasonable price increase came almost a year after a similar increase on September 1, 2024.

But in a letter dated August 30, 2025 and was signed by the Deputy Director of Collawole Oluwadaree, the organization said: “High costs that violate the law are discriminatory rejection of access to passports for millions of Nigenous people who are vulnerable to social and economic and violated the law for other citizenship rights.”

Shell said, “Millions of less fortunate Nigerians are not realistic to pay for an increase in costs. These Nigerians should not be forced to spend their limited income and are very inadequate to pay for an increase in costs instead of spending them for their basic living needs.”

According to Serap, “The Minister of Home Affairs and Financial Supervisors General NIS must comply with the Nigerian constitution and the country’s international human rights obligations in carrying out their constitutional and legal duties.”

The letter was read in part: “Increased costs will achieve the most difficult at the bottom of the economy. The Minister of the Interior and Financial Supervisors General NIS have legal responsibilities to ensure the right balance between the imposition of excessive passport costs in citizens and the protection of citizens’ rights.

“Nigerians who are unable to pay excessive costs will be rejected the effectiveness of their citizenship rights granted by the 1999 Nigerian Constitution [as amended] and human rights agreements in which the country is a state party.

“Increased passport costs that are not reasonable and disproportionate are not in accordance with the provisions of chapters 2 and 4 of the Nigerian Constitution which includes the fundamental objectives and principles of state policy direction and basic rights.

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“Excessive costs will also result in disproportionate financial burden on the poor of Nigeria.

“The Minister of Home Affairs and Financial Supervisors General NIS acted illegally when they arbitrarily increase passport costs. The Minister of Home Affairs and Financial Supervisors General NIS had given Nigerian Fundamental Rights by increasing Nigeria’s passport costs.

“We will be grateful if the recommended steps are taken within 7 days of receipt and/or the publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you at that time, absorbing will take all the right legal actions to force your government, the Minister and Supervisor of the General Supervisor to fulfill our request for the public interest.

“Increasing the cost of passports that violate the law at one time the state faces the economic and financial crisis will contribute further to poverty population.

“Increasing costs will also violate Nigeria’s rights to travel or leave their country including the right to obtain the necessary travel documents. The Minister of Home Affairs and Financial Supervisors General NIS failed to adequately justify the increase in costs.

“This improvement is discriminatory because it will damage the effective pleasure of citizens’ fundamental rights as guaranteed based on the Nigerian constitution and the African charter regarding human and community rights and international agreements on civil and political rights and political parties that are the Nigerian state party.

“According to our information, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) on Thursday, August 28, 2025 announced a review of the Nigerian standard passport fee that was valid on September 1, 2025.

“NIS stated that in the new rates, the application made in Nigeria, which costs N50,000 for 32 pages with a five -year validity, will now cost the N100,000 for the same page and the validity period. Also states that the 64 -page passport book with 10 years will now worth N200,000 from the N100,000.

“The increase in passport costs will be valid on September 1, 2025. The absorption recorded that NIS in September 2024 also increased the cost of 32 -page passports with a five -year validity from N35,000 to N50,000. This also increased 64 -page passport buches with 10 years validity from N100,000 to N100,000.