Nigeria’s push to move government information and services online predates the country’s current digital transformation drive. The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) was created in April 2001 to implement the Nigerian Information Technology Policy and coordinate information technology development in the country.
Six years later, the National Information Technology Development Agency Act 2007 provided a statutory framework for the agency’s responsibilities, including the development of standards, guidelines and regulations for information technology practices and systems.
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Since then, government agencies have increasingly moved information and public services to digital platforms, allowing citizens to access some services without having to visit government offices. Yet, for some Nigerians, accessing a government service online means not always mean doing it alone.
When Oluwanishola Samuel wanted an international passport in 2023, according to him, he paid about N60,000 to a middleman to handle the process for him. “I cannot go and waste my time at the immigration office,” he said.
Samuel had initially tried to use the government’s online platform but he abandoned the process after several unsuccessful attempts. “Nigerian websites when it comes to government agencies, it is always buggy,” he said. “I tried it several times, when I could not get a hang of it, I left it and opted for the middleman.”
He met the middleman through a friend and the process became straightforward after that. “Using the middleman, my passport was ready under two weeks,” he said.
Samuel’s experience was not limited to the passport process. For his National Identification Number, he went to a cybercafé, where he also had his NIN slip made into a conventional identity card after obtaining the slip. Cybercafé, rather than a government office, became the place where he received assistance with the process.
For other Nigerians, the decision to use someone else has been linked to the time involved in navigating government procedures.
Another applicant, Samuel Benjamin decided to obtain his international passport without using a middleman. After making the required payment, he attempted to book a date for data capture.
The available date was three months away. The wait did not put him under immediate pressure because he had enough time, but he said it could have been different for someone who needed the passport urgently.
When he eventually went to the passport office in FESTAC for data capture, the officers repeatedly asked who was handling the application for him. He was then directed to the SERVICOM office. There, he met two women. After explaining what he had come to do, he said, “they never responded nor told me what next step.”
According to him, the women continued processing documents for people they were assisting as middlemen. After about an hour, one of them asked him to bring his documents, she went through them and told him he needed to photocopy a document. Benjamin said the requirement was not contained in the information he had seen on the website. He went to make the photocopy. He was subsequently asked to provide two passport photographs. He complied.
It was after this, that his application was processed. He waited another four hours before moving to the next stage. At subsequent stages, he said there were also delays, including instances where officers brought people into the queue ahead of others, although the queue itself was a sitting queue. He eventually obtained his passport without using a middleman.
His experience meant that completing the application without an intermediary still involved a physical visit and several hours at the passport office.
The Nigeria Immigration Service says Nigerians can apply for and renew their passports online without using a third party.
The Service Public Relations Officer, ACI Akinsola Akinlabi, said applicants are required to use the online platform for passport applications. “There’s no other platform you can use to renew your passport. You have to go through online,” Akinlabi said.
Applicants make payment online, book an appointment and appear at the selected immigration office for biometric capture.
Cash payments at passport offices were stopped many years ago.
The NIS also provides online platforms for visa applications, residence permits and other immigration services.
“For passport, it’s passport.immigration.gov.ng. For e-visa, it’s e-visa.immigration.gov.ng. If you apply for visa at the embassy, it’s visa.immigration.gov.ng. If you apply for resident permit in Nigeria, you apply at epac.immigration.gov.ng,” Akinlabi said.
He said the Service also introduced a platform for its national biometric card.
According to him, the NIS regularly publishes information about its official platforms and conducts campaigns warning Nigerians about fake websites and payment platforms.
Applicants are expected to use the official portal, make payment, book an appointment and appear on the appointed date with evidence of payment.
“You do not have to rely on anyone,” he said.
The Service does not encourage Nigerians to use third parties, he added.
When asked why Nigerians still use middlemen despite the availability of online platforms, Akinlabi said the NIS was not aware of the extent of such use.
He said the Service’s position was that Nigerians could complete the processes themselves. “We are not hiding the process. The process is open. We have made it public.”
Akinlabi said some of the complaints received by the NIS are related to applicants not following instructions on the portal. He said some applicants begin the process without reading the instructions carefully.
The instructions, according to him, specify the documents required, passport photograph specifications, passport validity and the processing office. Passport photographs must meet specified standards, including a white background, applicants who upload photographs that do not meet the requirements can encounter difficulties with their applications, for passport renewals, applicants are expected to upload documents including evidence of birth, the data page of the passport being renewed, certificate of state of origin and local government identification. Where documents are missing, the application can be queried.
Akinlabi said applicants receive notifications through the phone number or email address provided during the application. They are expected to respond to the query before processing can continue.
According to him, applicants receive confirmation that their application has been received and notifications when it is being processed or queried. The applicant is then expected to respond to any query before processing can continue.
Akinlabi said Nigerians also needed to invest in digital education as more government services moved online. “People themselves have to invest in digital education,” he said.
He noted that internet use in Nigeria had continued to grow and that many Nigerians were already active online. “Even I have to learn how to use the internet. I have to learn some digital tools that will help me,” he said.
Yusuf Adegoke, another applicant who applied for his international passport in Osogbo in 2024 said he completed the procedure on a Thursday and received the passport on Monday.
Adegoke said he made an additional payment by tipping an immigration officer who assisted him. His account adds another experience to the range of ways applicants have navigated the passport process.
While Samuel paid a middleman to handle his application and Benjamin completed the process himself, Adegoke said he completed his application but received assistance from an immigration officer.
The experiences also differ from that of Ibrahim Oladipupo who uses an intermediary for his driver’s licence. Oladipupo said he met the woman who handles the transaction through his friend’s father. “He was the one that introduced us to the woman,” he said.
Whenever he and members of his family need to renew their driver’s licences, he said, they contact her. “We pay her and she gets it done,” he said.
He said they do not pay her an additional fee but sometimes tip her. The passport process has also undergone changes in official fees.
When Samuel obtained his passport in 2023, the official fee for a 32-page passport with five-year validity was N35,000. In September 2024, the Nigeria Immigration Service increased the fee for the 32-page passport with five-year validity from N35,000 to N50,000. The fee for the 64-page passport with 10-year validity increased from N70,000 to N100,000. A further increase took effect on September 1, 2025.
The 32-page passport with five-year validity became N100,000, while the 64-page passport with 10-year validity became N200,000.
The NIS said the 2025 increase was intended to uphold the quality and integrity of the Nigerian passport. The Service also said it remained committed to balancing quality service delivery with accessibility.
The fee changes mean that Samuel’s 2023 experience took place when the official charge for the 32-page, five-year passport was N35,000.
He said he paid about N60,000 to the middleman who handled the process, although he did not provide a breakdown of the amount between the official passport fee and the intermediary’s charge. The current official fee for the same passport is N100,000.
The NIS has continued to maintain that applicants do not need third-party assistance to access the service. Passport applications are not the only immigration services that have moved online.
According to Akinlabi, foreigners seeking Nigerian visas can apply through the Service’s online platforms. The e-visa process, he said, can be completed without visiting an immigration office or embassy. “It’s for foreigners,” he said, explaining that the e-visa service is for foreigners seeking to enter Nigeria. The Service also has a contactless passport renewal service for Nigerians living in the diaspora.
The contactless service was introduced for Nigerians abroad who may have difficulty accessing Nigerian embassies and consulates. Applicants using the service do not have to visit an embassy for the entire process. They are required to submit their documents and passport through the prescribed process, after which the passport is processed and returned.
For some other services, however, physical attendance remains necessary.
For example, applicants for residence permits may still have to visit a designated embassy or consulate for biometric capture.
Akinlabi said the e-visa and contactless passport services were examples of processes that can be completed without a physical visit. The experiences of applicants have also raised questions about how government digital platforms are designed.
A design expert who spoke on condition of anonymity said the issue was not simply whether government agencies had websites. “Nigeria lacks a design culture,” he said. He referred to Dubai’s Government Communication Guide, published in 2025, as an example of a government setting standards for how its institutions communicate.
The guide covers areas including communication strategy, audience identification, digital communication, social media and monitoring and evaluation. The expert said Nigeria did not have a comparable design culture, to the best of his knowledge.
He said the absence of such an approach could be seen in government-owned digital platforms. “It trickles down into their digital platforms. Big websites, software, whatever it is. It is just blank. It’s because there is no intentionality behind it,” he said.
The expert also questioned whether government agencies analyse how users interact with their platforms. “Are we even sure there are analytics behind these things we build? Where are people dropping off?” he asked.
He compared government platforms with products developed by private-sector companies, mentioning Paystack and Chowdeck.
“Check the quality of those platforms. Bring it down to any government platform you know. So, you can easily see the gap,” he said.
According to him, privately funded companies have a different approach to developing digital products. “If you were a private institution backed by funders’ money, I think you would have a separate approach to the things you build,” he said.
Some government platforms appeared to be developed simply to satisfy the requirement that an agency should have a website. “I think in Nigeria, we just build things to check a box,” he said. “We build things so that tomorrow when somebody says, ‘Do you have a website?’ we say yes.”
He said the approach affects websites, software and other digital products developed for public use. “If there is no intentionality behind this, we would just keep having these problems,” he said.
Nigeria already has standards governing government websites. NITDA’s Standards and Guidelines for Government Websites V3 provides requirements for institutions operating government websites.
The guidelines address areas including website content, accessibility, usability, security, privacy, maintenance and updating. They state that information published on government websites should be current and updated at least weekly.
Government homepages are also expected to provide basic contact information, including a functional telephone number and a monitored email address.
A feedback or comment page, search facility and site map are also listed among the required features.
Government institutions are expected to publish documents and other information on their websites. Where publication of a document is not practical, the guidelines require information on how citizens can obtain it to be provided on the website.
The guidelines also provide for accessibility and usability requirements for government websites. NITDA’s responsibilities under Nigeria’s digital governance framework include developing standards and guidelines for information technology and supporting the adoption of digital technologies in government. The agency has also been involved in the development and implementation of e-government standards.
What happens after an application is submitted?
ACCORDING to the NIS passport process, moving the application online has reduced some parts of the process to digital steps, but applicants in Nigeria still have to appear physically for biometric capture. The applicant begins by completing the application online.
The process includes providing personal information, verifying the NIN, uploading the required documents and passport photograph, selecting a processing centre, making payment and booking an appointment.
The applicant then visits the selected centre on the appointment date for biometric capture.
Akinlabi said the online platform also allows the Service to communicate with applicants during processing. An application can be accepted for processing, queried where there are issues with the submitted information or documents, and subsequently processed after the applicant responds.
The Service said applicants are notified through the contact details supplied during the application. For applicants who do not respond to queries, processing can be delayed.
Akinlabi said some applicants do not return to their accounts or check the email addresses they provided after submitting their applications. Applicants should read the instructions and monitor their applications.
The NIS’s digital services show that putting a government transaction online does not always mean the entire process takes place online.
For passport applications in Nigeria, the application, payment and appointment booking are completed online, while biometric capture requires physical attendance.
For e-visas, Akinlabi said applicants can complete the process without visiting an immigration office or embassy.
For Nigerians in the diaspora using the contactless passport service, physical visits to embassies can also be avoided, although documents and passports still have to be submitted through the required channels.
The distinction between an online application and a fully digital service is therefore reflected in the different immigration services available to applicants.
For those who use intermediaries, the people involved in the process are mostly not strangers. Samuel met his passport middleman through a friend, Oladipupo was introduced to the woman who handles his driver’s licence through his friend’s father, Benjamin used a cybercafé for his NIN-related service.
The arrangements also vary. Samuel paid about N60,000 to the middleman for his passport process in 2023. Oladipupo said he pays the woman who handles his driver’s licence but does not make additional payments, although he sometimes tips her. Adegoke said he tipped an immigration officer who assisted him during his passport application. The NIS, however, maintains that applicants can use its official platforms without third-party assistance.
Akinlabi said the Service has continued to publish information about its official platforms and conduct public awareness campaigns. He said applicants should avoid fake websites and payment platforms and use only the portals provided by the NIS.
“We do not patronise fake websites,” he said.
The NIS said its digital platforms are monitored and updated. When asked how often the Service updates its website, Akinlabi said updates are carried out regularly. “Of course, we update it all the time,” he said.
He said information about the Service’s activities and press releases are published on the website. “Of course, the website is well monitored,” he said.
He added that the Service also monitors the platform for cyber threats. “The NIS understands its responsibility. And it continues to carry it under the leadership of the Controller-General,” he said.
For applicants, however, the experience of using a digital government service can include several stages: finding the correct platform, understanding the instructions, uploading the required documents, making payment, securing an appointment, responding to queries and, in the case of passport applications in Nigeria, appearing physically for biometric capture.
The number of Nigerians using the internet has continued to grow alongside the expansion of digital public services.
DataReportal estimated that Nigeria had 109 million Internet users at the end of 2025, representing 45.5 per cent of the population. The World Bank’s latest country data puts internet use at 41 per cent of the population in 2024.
Nigeria’s digital identity infrastructure has also expanded. The World Bank said more than 100 million National Identification Numbers had been issued by late 2025.
Digital identity is one of the components of digital public infrastructure, alongside digital payments and secure data-sharing systems, which the World Bank identifies as foundations for digital government services.
The government’s digital infrastructure is also expanding. In October 2025, the World Bank approved $500 million for Nigeria’s Building Resilient Digital Infrastructure for Growth project, which is intended to expand affordable, high-speed broadband to communities that remain underserved or unserved.
The figures provide a picture of a country with a growing population of internet users and expanding digital infrastructure, while government agencies continue to move services and transactions online.
For the Nigerians interviewed for this story, however, the way those services are accessed varies. Samuel used a middleman, while Benjamin completed his application himself but spent hours at the passport office. Adegoke completed his process but said he tipped an officer who assisted him.
Adegboyega continues to contact an intermediary whenever he needs to renew his driver’s licence. The NIS says its platforms are available and that applicants are not required to use intermediaries. Its online services continue to expand, while NITDA has standards governing government websites and digital platforms.
The experiences of the applicants interviewed show the different ways Nigerians currently navigate those services, from completing transactions themselves to relying on cybercafés, personal connections and intermediaries.
