No passport sold to Nigerian national – Immigration Chief ag

“It is very unfortunate that persons see it fit to malign the department, the Government of St Vincent and the Grenadines, and the country as a whole, by spreading such falsehood.”

This was the response of the acting chief immigration officer, Beverly Walker, after accusations surfaced in a Caribbean News{{more}} Now article that a Nigerian national had been issued a Vincentian passport in exchange for US$75,000.

In a statement released yesterday, August 31, Walker said that claims that Nigerian businessman Alhaji Dahiru Barau Mangal had been sold a passport are “false and unfounded”.

“A thorough check was made of our Passport Issuing System, and no such name appears in our database,” said Walker in the release.

The article, which was published on Caribbean News Now on August 31, states that “confidential sources in St Vincent and the Grenadines” relayed this information, and also added that the Nigerian businessman in question is a multi-billionaire of questionable reputation.

The article also claims that the 52-year-old Nigerian national is the owner of a Nigeria-based air charter company, which “has frequently been reported to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority for maintenance violations and the employment of unqualified flight crew.”

In the release, Walker also stated that “the records at our Border Management System reveal that Mr. Mangal never entered the state of St. Vincent and the Grenadines through any of our ports.

It must be noted that Nigerian nationals require a visa to enter this country, and nowhere in our records does the name Alhaji Dahiru Barau Mangal appear as having applied for, or obtained any entry visa to the state.”

Walker also asked the public to note that the staff at the Passports and Immigration Department conduct their work “with utmost diligence”, and that SVG passports are only issued to citizens of the state “after all relevant, supporting documents are submitted and the necessary interviews are conducted.”