The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has moved its ongoing passport intervention exercise in London to a new venue after Nigerians attending the programme were reportedly asked to leave the original location.
The Nigeria High Commission in London notified applicants of the change in an email sent at 9:39 p.m. on Monday, September 7, ahead of appointments scheduled for Tuesday.
The passport capturing centre was moved from Liyali Lounge to 56–57 Fleet Street, Temple, London, EC4Y 1JU. Applicants were instructed to retain their existing appointment times.
“Due to unforeseen technical challenges at Liyali Lounge, your intervention capturing centre is now 56–57 Fleet Street, Temple, EC4Y 1JU. Kindly attend at your booked time,” the Commission said in the notice.
The Commission did not provide further details about the technical difficulties or refer to reports of a payment dispute involving the original venue.
The venue change followed an X post by Olamide Obe, who alleged that Nigerians attending the passport exercise at Liyali Lounge had been asked to leave.
Obe claimed that the Lebanese owner of the lounge ordered applicants out because the NIS and Nigerian embassy officials had not paid for the use of the facility. He also alleged that security arrangements at the venue were inadequate.
In a subsequent update on Tuesday, Obe said an alternative venue had been arranged and advised applicants not to proceed to Liyali Lounge.
Passport Intervention Exercise
The London intervention is part of a wider NIS initiative to address passport application backlogs among Nigerians living in the United Kingdom.
The NIS announced on August 31 that the September intervention would cover four UK locations. London and Manchester were scheduled for September 7–19, while Aberdeen and Cardiff were scheduled for September 21–26.
Liyali Lounge had originally been designated as the London venue, while the Manchester exercise was scheduled for Nigerian House at 23 Platt Lane.
The intervention is intended to allow Nigerians to obtain new passports, renew existing documents and resolve outstanding applications without going through the regular overseas application process.
For the September exercise, applicants were required to present their passport application form, payment receipt, appointment slip and old passport booklet where applicable.
The applicable passport fee is £70, while applicants replacing lost, misplaced or damaged passports are required to pay £150. Applicants were also required to provide a prepaid Royal Mail C4 Special Delivery self-addressed envelope for delivery of their passports.
