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Nigerian Missionary Narrates How Nigeria's High Commission In Kenya Indulges In Passport Racketeering, Corrupt Practices

Nigerian Missionary Narrates How Nigeria's High Commission In Kenya Indulges In Passport Racketeering, Corrupt Practices
September 12, 2022

Fegher said he had chosen to swim against the current of being indifferent to the act of endless wickedness being melted on Nigerians.

More facts have emerged on how the Nigerian High Commission in Nairobi, dubiously exploited Nigerians living in Kenya.

A Nigerian missionary assigned to work in Kenya, Revd. Br. Moses Fegher, also narrated his encounter with the Consular General and other workers of the High Commission in a statement.

Fegher said he had chosen to swim against the current of being indifferent to the act of endless wickedness being melted on Nigerians.

Titled "Dubious Activities at the Nigerian High Commission in Kenya," the missionary lamented that worse was that young Nigerians who clamoured to be given the chance to lead were at the helm of the exploitation of Nigerians in Kenya.

Narrating the passport racketeering in the High Commission, Fegher said that the nature of his work had continued to keep him in touch with the Nigerian High Commission in Kenya on a regular basis, which made him have first-hand information.

He said, "Unfortunately, the experiences there have never been pleasant. I wish to seize this opportunity to bring to limelight what I perceived and tagged as “Dubious Activities at the Nigerian High Commission in Kenya”.

 "My certitude just like any other meaning human would is that leadership must first and foremost meet the needs of others but as has been opposite with our leaders placed in authority, the Leadership at the Nigeria High Commission is not an exception. At the High Commission, I experienced some common signs of bad leadership ranging from passive aggressive communication, failure to own up to mistakes, not listening to concerns, and creating an intimidating atmosphere.

"The people working at the High Commission value their pockets more than the life of the Nigerians they are sent here to protect and take care of. Good leaders stand for relevance and they are never afraid to face the facts headstrong but when leaders themselves have turned to be preying on their own subjects, it is worrisome."

Citing that a case of a stranded young Nigerian from Delta in 2019, who was brought to him by a Kenya lady without a passport, and his experience when he took him to the High Commission became his rudest shock in life.

"The young man was handed over to me in a situation in which he had no passport. I decided to present the young man to our High Commission with hope that he will be given assistance to return home. Surprisingly, I was told by the High Commission that such cases are not treated there. I was told by the Consular that he can only be helped to get his exit permit if he is able to acquire a new passport from the Embassy and a flight ticket."

He queried “If our High Commission cannot help stranded Nigerians in Kenya, whose responsibility is it to address such issues?”

"Initially I thought it was a way of evaluating the authenticity of the case so I embraced the challenge and raised funds to obtain a new passport for the young man with hope that if it is presented to the High Commission, his flight ticket will be provided. Are you shocked the way I was and still am to know that the High Commission maintained that the young man has to get his flight ticket for the High Commission to obtain exit permit from Kenya Immigration authority to enable him return home.

“It was at this point I knew, the earlier statement made by the Consular that they don’t treat such issues was not to be withdrawn," he said. Adding that he had to beg for money to procure a ticket for his flight before the commission secured him exit permit.

“On the exploitation at the High Commission, which has become a Cartel, he stated that his effort to get the stranded back home, he was introduced to another Nigerian at the High Commission known as "Celestine", who they told him could help the stranded man obtain his exit permit from the Kenyan immigration authority.

"This made me to believe that Celestine was a staff at the High Commission because when you visited the place, you are not allowed to cross the security checkpoint with any electronic and Nigerians are not exempted but Celestine could arrive there and move in with everything and my conviction was consolidated by this fact so I started making referrals to Celestine concerning passport renewal of Nigerians staying in Kenya without a hint that his operation there as endorsed by the High Commission was to be exploiting their own very fellow Nigerians to enrich their pockets.

"It may interest you to know that after I shared the experience of my encounter with Celestine with some of the Nigerians, I was informed that Celestine claimed to have been considerate with me as many other Nigerians are meant to pay the sum of $200 (Kes20,000) for passport renewal which is high above Kes12,910 fixed fee for the passport renewal.

"This realisation provoked me to send him a very strong text cautioning his exploitation prowess at the High Commission which he may have been carrying out for some time among his own people. He got angry that I accused him of being a scammer so we shall sort it out at the High Commission. I quickly got an appointment scheduled and went there with his knowledge, he never showed up."

While expressed worries over the future on Nigeria, said "a sensible, literate and young person whose conscience isn’t decayed won’t place his interest above serving his own people not to talk of exploiting them but it is not the case with what is happening at the Nigeria High Commission in Kenya where young people are at the helms of affairs to exploit their own very people."