They noted that however, anybody who has money to pay the immigration head, Odoma and/or those they described as his anointed agents, as bribes, can do his biometric capturing and collect his passport same day....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
Nigerians living in South Africa under the umbrella of the Nigerian Union in South Africa, have lamented and accused the immigration section of the Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg, headed by Mr Shaibu Sule Odoma, and others of corruption and extortion.
The union in a letter dated December 21, 2023 and addressed to the Consul General of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Johannesburg – Gauteng, South Africa, Andrew Idi, said that currently, it takes more than two months between application and collection of E-passport from the Consulate.
They noted that however, anybody who has money to pay the immigration head, Odoma and/or those they described as his anointed agents, as bribes, can do his biometric capturing and collect his passport same day.
The union in the letter signed by its President, Doris Ikeri-Solarin and Secretary General, Okeke Somadina Christian, said “We have watched with bewilderment the reckless Corruption and extortion being perpetrated by Mr Shaibu Sule Odoma, the head of Immigration, at the Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg and his cohorts.
“We expected the authorities to have done something because it is public knowledge, and nobody can pretend not to be aware.
“Right now it takes more than two (2) months between application and collection of E-passport from the Consulate. Meanwhile anybody that has money to pay Mr Shaibu Sule Odoma and/or his anointed agents can capture and collect his passport same day.”
They alleged that “Mr. Odoma operates a parallel passport operation. He has his own passport booklets for this illegal parallel passport racketeering. We believe that these booklets are part of those that are supposed to be used for applicants.
“He encourages Nigerians living outside Gauteng not to bother to make applications when the Consulate is planning passport interventions in those areas, and then charges them a fee to do instant applications for them during the interventions.
“He deliberately slows down operations to force Nigerians to become desperate and vulnerable in order to extort money from them before rendering services to them. His illegal charges range between R2500 and R7000 depending on how desperate the applicants are.
“Mr Odoma once engaged in a physical fight with one of his victims who collected his passport without paying his bribe money in full.
“scandalizes the image of Nigeria by sometimes recklessly conducting these corrupt transactions in taverns and other public places outside the Consulate premises. We also have evidence of Mr Odoma delivering Nigerian passports to applicants outside the gate of his residence at Morningside, Sandton.”
The union further stated in the letter that “The illegal activities of Mr. Shaibu Odoma have caused a lot of public outcry which everybody is aware of. One of the numerous instances involved a Kenya based Nigerian doctor that he extorted.
“Mr. Sule is arrogant and garrulous about his ill-gotten wealth. He publicly boasts that he is richer than the Consul-General, and even mocks one of his colleagues that he is poor because he only depends on his $3,000 pay from the Federal Government.
“Sir, it is imperative to let you know that we are in possession of details of the fnb account number belonging to his former driver he used to collect some of the illegal money.
“We are also aware that he quarreled with his driver on accounting issues and has now resorted to collecting money through e-wallet and cash.
“We also have details of some of his investments and money he deposited for a very expensive car. We shall release specific information if need be.”
The union therefore demanded the immediate recall of Odoma to Nigeria and that Odoma should be investigated by relevant law enforcement agencies in Nigeria.
They also demanded “Recovery of all passport booklets he hoarded in order to ease the suffering of Nigerian passport applicants in South Africa and neighbouring countries covered by the Consulate- General, Johannesburg.”
They lamented that “We, Nigerians living in South Africa bear the brunt of Mr Odoma’s wickedness, and will engage in mass action from January if he remains the head of Immigration at the Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg.
“We can no longer watch him without taking action. Please transmit our concerns to the relevant authorities urgently.”
Also, in a letter dated January 20, 2024, also addressed to the Consul General, Andrew Idi, the union called for urgent passport intervention for Nigerians in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
The union, in the letter also signed by its President and Secretary General, Ikeri-Solarin and Christian, said, “We write to request your approval for passport intervention in Free State. The Nigerians in Bloemfontein, Free State are ready for passport renewal. The list of those with expired passports has been compiled by our structure in Bloemfontein.
“Sir we humbly request for the suitable date when the consulate official will be in Bloemfontein for capturing of the applicants. The president, Hon. (Mrs) Doris IkeriSolarin is working with the NUSA structure in Bloemfontein to ensure a seamless process…CONTINUE READING>>
