On Saturday, the social media was aslosh with a viral video of a female passenger who allegedly tore her husband’s passport upon their arrival at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
In the video, the husband appeared shocked and speechless as pieces of the torn passport littered the floor, while passersby, including officials of the Nigerian Customs Service, looked on.
“Yes, I tore the passport, this is Nigeria”, the woman was heard saying, as she walked away with her children, leaving the husband behind.
Reacting to the development, the Nigeria Immigration Service, (NIS), in a statement issued Monday and posted on the official X handle by its spokesperson, Kenneth Udo, said it had commenced investigation into the incident.
“The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has launched a formal investigation following the circulation of a video on social media showing a female traveller destroying a Nigerian Standard Passport at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
“The individual (the woman) has been identified and invited for further investigation”, the statement read.
The NIS reiterated that it remained steadfast in its commitment to upholding the provisions of the Immigration Act in the interest of national security and preservation of the dignity and integrity of the nation’s legal instruments.
“If the allegations are substantiated, her actions would have constituted a breach of Section 10(b) of the Immigration Act 2015 (as amended), with corresponding penalties outlined under Section 10(h) of the same Act”, the statement said.
The Act stipulates that anyone who “unlawfully alters, tampers with or mutilates any passport or any page thereof, is liable to imprisonment for a term of 10 years or a fine of N2 million or both”.
Similarly, anyone who “attempts, aids, abets, counsels, procures, connives or conspires with any other person to do any of the acts mentioned in this subsection. commits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of ten years or a fine of Two Million Naira or both,” section 10(h) of the Act partly read.
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