Despite releasing passports to hundreds of applicants between August 1 and August 6, embassy officials have deliberately refused to issue a renewed passport to the applicant following SaharaReporters’ July investigation into the racketeering.
The Nigerian Embassy in Qatar has targeted and penalised a Nigerian passport applicant for allegedly exposing how embassy officials were extorting fellow citizens desperate to renew their passports, SaharaReporters can exclusively confirm.
Despite releasing passports to hundreds of applicants between August 1 and August 6, embassy officials have deliberately refused to issue a renewed passport to the applicant following SaharaReporters’ July investigation into the racketeering.
Documents obtained by SaharaReporters show that the applicant, who is being victimised, like other applicants, paid N315,000 (750 Qatari Riyals) for his passport renewal, but had his name removed from the list of Nigerians whose passports were processed.
A source familiar with the matter told SaharaReporters: “The embassy issued more than 500 passports between August 1 and 6, but the person’s name was deliberately left out. According to them, his offence is that he exposed them. This is pure victimisation.”
SaharaReporters’ exposé revealed how over 500 Nigerians living in Qatar were stranded for more than five months after the Nigerian Embassy in Doha collected huge sums for passport renewal but failed to deliver.
In that July report, several Nigerians described the embassy’s conduct as “a big scam” and “official fraud against helpless citizens abroad.”
One of the affected nationals told SaharaReporters, “The embassy abandoned us here with expired passports. In February 2025, they announced that immigration officials from Nigeria had arrived to handle the backlog. But after collecting our money, they refused to issue passports until we cried out. Now that SaharaReporters exposed them, they are trying to punish the person they believe leaked the fraud.”
Investigations revealed that the embassy claimed it was able to identify the applicant as one of those who spoke to SaharaReporters by tracing the receipt number from a payment document used in the report.
Rather than address the corruption allegations, the embassy has now resorted to reprisals, leaving the applicant stranded in Qatar without a valid passport.
Sources explained that the expired passport would affect the applicant’s ability to secure good jobs, maintain bank accounts, or even travel home.
“Because of this situation, he doesn’t have the entitlement to get better jobs, and he can’t travel anywhere. Even his bank accounts here are almost blocked,” the source said.
The affected Nigerians in Qatar emphasised that they did not visit any third-party office but dealt directly with the Nigerian Embassy in Doha.
When contacted for comments, the Nigeria Immigration Service spokesperson, Akinsola Akinlabi, said, “You know I don’t speak for the Embassy of Nigeria in Qatar.”
Dotun
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