Activist and media entrepreneur, Philip Thomas, aka Comrade Phils, refused to pay a bribe in order to have his travel passport renewed at the immigration office in Port Harcourt, south of Nigeria.
For this, he was humiliated and thrown out of the office by the immigration officers. A video of the incident has since gained wide media attention including that of Nigeria’s Comptroller-General of the Immigration.
The authorities say they are interested in assisting him to get justice by reporting the culpable officers to the nation’s anti-graft commissions but Phils said this is not an isolated case. He wants a wholesome fight against corruption in all immigration offices across the country.
To achieve this, Comrade Phils started an anti-corruption campaign against the culpable officers using #CorruptionIsBold #ChallengeIt and it went viral.
The video of his confrontation with the corrupt officials, seen below, shows Comrade Phils telling the official, ” You are calling me silly for refusing to pay a bribe, asking me to leave your office.”
The immigration Authorities have since issued several statements via their official Twitter account condemning the acts of its officers and promising to ensure they are brought to book.
Responding to the tweet by Mr Mohammed Babandede, comptroller-general of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Comrade Phils stressed that his case was not an isolated one and that he needed a wholesome sanitation of the immigration service across the country.
Nigerians on Twitter seized the opportunity to express their various ugly encounters with the immigration offices at different locations in the country.
The Twitter handle of the immigration service posted the official contacts the public can reach to make reports of corrupt practices at their various stations.
The Port Harcourt area command has scheduled a meeting with Comrade Phils to resolve issues regarding his failed renewal efforts.
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