27th June, 2022
The Nigerian Immigration Service has broken its silence on purportedly issuing a minor, David Ukpo Nwamina, passport which enabled him to travel with the Ekweremadus for organ donor.
Former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekeremadu and his wife were arrested in London for allegedly transporting a minor, who is said to be 15-year-old to London to donate his organ to their sick daughter.
The duo were arraigned at the Uxbridge Magistrate Court in London on charges of conspiracy and organ harvest on Thursday.
The case has been adjourned to July 7, while the couple had been detained after they were refused bail.
Reacting to accusation that the immigration service were complicit in the matter, acting Comptroller-General of the service, Idris Jere, said the immigration duly issued Nwamina passport after due process was followed.
He said documents obtained from him showed that he is 21 years old and not 15 as being claimed by the Met Police in London.
Jere stated that the service wished to set the record straight by informing the general public that the views being expressed that the service did not properly vet the breeder’s documents issued by the applicant during his passport application process were not correct, but mere fabrications aimed at tarnishing the image of the Service.
He explained that the facts of the matter concerning the case, therefore, were that the said Nwamina applied and paid for the Enhanced e-passport using the NIS portal after which he approached the Gwagwalada Passport Office, FCT Abuja, on November 2, 2021 for his interview.
Jere explained that to support his application, Nwamina presented all the necessary documents required, including his birth certificate issued by National Population Commission, showing October 12, 2000, as his date of birth; his National Identity Number, issued by NIMC corroborating the date of birth; a certificate of origin issued by Ebonyi State Government Liaison Office Abuja, and a Guarantor’s form duly signed.
According to him, in view of the above, the general public might wish to be informed that the date of birth, or any other information, on any Nigerian passport is printed on the document only after a thorough vetting process that involved both the applicant’s breeder documents and the person.
He said Nwamina’s case, therefore, was not an exception.