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The Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL) has strongly condemned the recent hike in international passport fees to ₦100,000 for the 32-page passport and ₦200,000 for the 64-page passport, describing it as unconstitutional and anti-people.
In a public statement signed by Professor Paul Ananaba, SAN, Chairman of NBA-SPIDEL, and Kunle Edun, SAN, Chairman of the NBA-SPIDEL Public Interest Litigation Committee, the association argued that passport fees are government charges that must be legally enacted through a Money Bill passed by the National Assembly and assented to by the President. Any fee increase imposed outside this legislative process, they said, has no legal validity.
While the Immigration Act 2015 allows the Minister of Interior to set fees via regulations, NBA-SPIDEL stressed that such regulations must be properly gazetted and presented to the National Assembly. They emphasized that administrative directives, circulars, policies, or press releases cannot legally impose financial obligations on Nigerians.
The association also warned that the steep fees could indirectly restrict the constitutional right to freedom of movement (Section 41) and labeled the hike as arbitrary, excessive, and economically insensitive, especially given Nigeria’s ₦70,000 national minimum wage.
NBA-SPIDEL’s demands include:
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Immediate suspension of the fee hike pending evidence of legal authorization.
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A formal explanation from the Ministry of Interior and the Nigerian Immigration Service regarding the statutory basis for the increase.
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Oversight by the National Assembly to examine the legality and economic justification of the new fees.
The association further vowed to file public interest litigation in the Federal High Court if the authorities fail to reverse the increment and pledged to mobilize civil society, labor unions, professional groups, and the media to resist the policy.
“The Nigerian people deserve governance based on law, justice, fairness, and accountability, not arbitrary economic impositions,” the statement concluded.
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