August 31, (THEWILL) — The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Bola Tinubu to direct the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, and the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Kemi Nanna Nandap, to immediately reverse what it described as the arbitrary and excessive increase in international passport fees.
The NIS had last week announced that effective September 1, 2025, applications within Nigeria would attract new charges of N100,000 for a 32-page passport with five-year validity and N200,000 for a 64-page passport with 10-year validity.
The development comes barely a year after a similar hike in September 2024, when the fee for a 32-page booklet was raised from N35,000 to N50,000 and that of the 64-page booklet from N70,000 to N100,000.
In an open letter dated August 30, 2025, and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP described the increment as discriminatory, unlawful, and a denial of citizenship rights to millions of socially and economically vulnerable Nigerians.
“The unlawfully high fees amount to a discriminatory denial of access to passports and other citizenship rights,” the letter read in part.
It added, “Millions of disadvantaged Nigerians cannot realistically afford to pay the increased fees. These Nigerians should not be forced to spend their limited and grossly inadequate income to pay the increased fees instead of on their basic living needs.”
According to the group, the new charges would impose disproportionate financial burdens on poor Nigerians, adding that the Interior Ministry and the NIS failed to assess the impact of the hike on citizens grappling with worsening economic conditions.
“The Minister of Interior and the Comptroller General acted unlawfully when they arbitrarily increased the passport fees.
“The decision renders nugatory Nigerians’ fundamental rights as guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,” SERAP said.
The organisation maintained that the increase undermines constitutional provisions on fundamental rights and state policy, while also violating citizens’ right to travel and obtain necessary travel documents.
SERAP called on Tinubu to ensure the reversal of the new fees within seven days of receiving its letter, failing which it vowed to take legal action “to compel the government, the Minister, and the Comptroller General to comply in the public interest.”
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