24,900 Blank Passports Missing; Nigeria Immigration

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000172 SIPDIS STATE FOR CA/FPP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CVIS KFRD PGOV NI SUBJECT: 24,900 Blank Passports Missing; Nigeria Immigration Sacks 200 For Corruption ¶1. SUMMARY: Nigeria Immigration Service has approached Amconsul Lagos with information regarding 24,900 blank passports that have recently been discovered missing, and are now cancelled. This comes at the same time that local media outlets are reporting 200 passport adjudicators being fired due to corruption. Nigeria FPM will meet later this week with the Chief Superintendent of Immigration who is traveling to Lagos to brief on the aforementioned issues. Serial numbers of missing passports follow. END SUMMARY. ¶2. On February 6, 2006 the Nigeria Immigration Service updated their website with the serial numbers of 24,900 blank passports that are apparently missing and subsequently cancelled. On the same day, Chief Superintendent Tanko of Nigeria Immigration's Anti-Fraud Directorate contacted the Nigeria FPM to request a meeting for later in the week to brief on the circumstances surrounding the missing passports. ¶3. On the telephone, Mr. Tanko reported that they had recently discovered that thieves had broken through the wall of the vault where the passports were being stored. According to him, these thieves had gained access to a neighboring structure and used drills and torches to cut through the wall before stealing the blank passports. He says that they conducted a search of surrounding buildings but were unable to recover the passports. ¶4. This news comes at the same time that local media outlets are reporting the sacking of 200 out of their approximately 250 passport adjudicators due to "passport racketeering." On January 25, 2006 local papers provided coverage of a press conference where the Comptroller General of Nigerian Immigration described the sacked passport officers as "official touts." In Nigeria, the term tout refers to local gangs who use their implied influence to extract fees from people in the course of routine business. ¶5. Amconsul Lagos will report septel on the meeting with Mr. Tanko. ¶6. Serial number ranges of the 24,900 missing blank passports follow: A4103151 - A4103650 A4081151 - A4081650 A4071651 - A4072150 A4072651 - A4073150 A4071151 - A4071650 A4067151 - A4067650 A3102190 - A3102689 A3070190 - A3070689 A3069690 - A3070189 A3103190 - A3103689 A3066690 - A3067189 A3062690 - A3063189 A3995151 - A3995650 A3296690A - A3297189A A3269690A - A3270189A A3268690A - A3269189A A3268190A - A3268689A A3267690A - A3268189A A3267190A - A3267689A A3266690A - A3267189A A3266190A - A3266689A A3265690A - A3266189A A3265190A - A3265689A A3264690A - A3265689A A2986290A - A2986689A A2979190A - A2979689A A2975190A - A2975689A A2971190A - A2971689A A2970690A - A2971189A A2966190A - A2966689A A2965690A - A2966189A A2957190A - A2957689A A2953690A - A2954189A A2952190A - A2952689A A2941190A - A2941689A A2938690A - A2939189A A2935190A - A2935689A A2934690A - A2935189A A2934190A - A2934689A A2928190A - A2928689A A2919190A - A2919689A A2914690A - A2915189A A2910190A - A2910689A A2905190A - A2905689A A2901690A - A2902189A A2901190A - A2901689A A2886690A - A2887189A A2882190A - A2882689A A2877690A - A2878189A A2873190A - A2873689A BROWNE