SERAP demands immediate reversal of ‘unlawful, excessive’ passport fee hike

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to order 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, unlawful, unjustified, and excessive” increase in Nigerian passport fees.

The NIS had announced on August 28, 2025, that effective September 1, passport applications within Nigeria would now cost N100,000 for a 32-page booklet with a five-year validity and N200,000 for a 64-page booklet with a 10-year validity.

This represents a 100 percent increase from the previous rates of N50,000 and N100,000 respectively.

The decision, which comes barely a year after a similar upward adjustment in September 2024, has drawn sharp criticism from rights groups and citizens already grappling with harsh economic realities.

In a letter dated August 30, 2025, and signed by its deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP argued that the increase would effectively deny millions of Nigerians, especially the poor and vulnerable, access to passports—thereby restricting their constitutional and human rights.

“The unlawfully high fees amount to a discriminatory denial of access to a passport to millions of socially and economically vulnerable Nigerians and unlawful restrictions of their other citizenship rights,” SERAP said.

The organisation warned that the fee hike would “hit hardest those at the bottom of the economy,” forcing Nigerians to divert meagre incomes away from food, shelter, and healthcare, in order to afford travel documents.

SERAP further accused the Minister of Interior and the Comptroller General of failing to consider the socio-economic impact of their decision, particularly given the rising cost of living and worsening poverty in the country.

The group stressed that the move is incompatible with Chapters 2 and 4 of the 1999 Constitution which guarantee fundamental rights and directive principles of state policy.

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It also said the increase violates Nigeria’s obligations under international human rights treaties, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

SERAP issued a seven-day ultimatum for the federal government to reverse the policy, warning that failure to act would leave the organisation with no choice but to seek legal redress.

“If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel your government, the Minister, and the Comptroller General to comply with our request in the public interest,” the group stated.

The rights group maintained that the new rates would not only further impoverish Nigerians but also amount to an unjustifiable restriction on the right to travel and freedom of movement.

This marks the second passport fee hike in two years. In September 2024, the NIS increased the cost of a 32-page passport from N35,000 to N50,000, and the 64-page passport from N70,000 to N100,000.

As the September 1 implementation date takes effect, public outcry is expected to intensify, with civil society organisations, rights groups, and ordinary Nigerians demanding a reversal of the policy