The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has blamed technical failure for the disruption that left Nigerian passport applicants stranded at its intervention centre in Manchester, United Kingdom (UK), amid complaints of long waits, venue-related issues and an alleged £70 administrative charge.
The Service, in a statement on Tuesday, said the technical downtime temporarily affected biometric capturing, particularly at the Manchester centre, but was resolved promptly, allowing the passport intervention exercise to resume.
“Following a brief technical downtime earlier yesterday morning that temporarily disrupted biometric capturing, especially at Manchester centre, and its prompt resolution, the exercise proceeded smoothly,” the NIS said.
According to the immigration authorities, a total of 230 applicants who had secured appointments were processed during the exercise, with 140 applicants attended to in Manchester and another 90 in London.
The NIS said the applicants successfully had their biometric data captured after the technical difficulties were resolved, indicating that the intervention exercise remained operational despite the initial disruption.
