The Nigeria Immigration Service has relocated its London passport intervention exercise to a new venue after Nigerians attending the programme were reportedly asked to leave the original facility, sparking complaints over disorganisation, delays and demands for extra payments .
The change was communicated via an email sent by the Nigeria High Commission in London at 9:39 p.m. on Monday, September 7, 2026, to applicants scheduled for appointments on Tuesday. The High Commission attributed the move to “unforeseen technical challenges” at Liyali Lounge, the original venue . Applicants were directed to the new location at 56–57 Fleet Street, Temple, London, EC4Y 1JU, while keeping their existing appointment times. The notice apologised for the inconvenience but did not mention any payment dispute involving the original venue .
The venue change followed an X post by Olamide Obe, who alleged that the Lebanese owner of Liyali Lounge evicted applicants because NIS and Nigerian embassy officials had not paid for use of the facility . A video circulating on social media showed the owner ordering people to leave, saying: “You guys are done for today. I can’t take it. Even the embassy, this is unorganised. No security, no staff” . Obe also claimed no security was provided at the venue.
The intervention, which began on Monday, September 7, was designed to help Nigerians in the UK obtain new passports, renew existing ones or resolve pending applications across four UK cities, following the deployment of a Passport Intervention Team from NIS headquarters in Abuja on the directive of the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo . London and Manchester were initially scheduled for September 7 to 19, while Aberdeen and Cardiff were planned for September 21 to 26 .
However, the exercise has been plagued by complaints from applicants about long delays and poor coordination. One applicant reported arriving at 9 a.m. but still waiting by 11:30 a.m., while another with a 9 a.m. appointment was still waiting at 12 noon . The Manchester exercise also saw crowds gathering outside with no officials in sight for hours .
Some applicants also accused officials of demanding an additional £70 fee on top of the official passport charges . However, Minister Tunji-Ojo stated that “this process does not come with extra costs other than the official fees” .
