Oluniyi D.Ajao

In a bid to curb the menace of passport forgery and identity theft, the Nigeria Immigration Service is phasing out the current machine-ready passports, and replacing them with electronic Passports. The new ePassports will come with electronic chips that store personal information about the passport holder. This is according to BBC News.

Wikipedia describes an e-passport as a combined paper and electronic identity document that uses biometrics to authenticate the citizenship of travelers. The passport’s critical information is stored on a tiny RFID computer chip, much like information stored on smartcards. Like some smartcards, the passport book design calls for an embedded contactless chip that is able to hold digital signature data to ensure the integrity of the passport and the biometric data.

Already, President Umaru Yar’Adua and some Federal legislators have been issued the new ePassport. Nigerians are to pay N8,500 to swap their current passports for the new one. The current passports would seize to be valid travel documents from July 2008.

BusinessDay quotes Ekpedeme King, spokesman for The Nigeria Immigration Service, as saying: the new e-passport has met the standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation and restored the integrity of Nigeria travel documents, the dignity of the holder and quick immigration passage.

Related posts:

1. Cashcards, release the money of Nigerians
2. FINALLY, YOUNG NIGERIANS GET ANGRY!!!
3. Nigerians and Crash Helmets
4. Nigeria: Beware of Fake Nigeria Immigration Service, Central Bank, oil company websites
5. Problems with credit/debit cards issued in Nigeria
6. Text2fly.com.ng: Check domestic flights availability in Nigeria by SMS
7. Etranzact Cardholders can use their cards in Ghana and Nigeria
8. How to be “Proudly Nigerian”
9. How Diepreye Alamieyeseigha jumped bail and returned to Nigeria
10. A review of MTN Nigeria Mobile Broadband service