₦airaland Forum

Redman44:
Corruption is universal. So don't think any nation on earth is corruption-free. It is just that some of the advanced nations do it very intelligently. There are some very corrupt countries in Europe. And many corrupt nations in Asia. It is just that these countries have stiff punishments for corrupt people. Indonesia and Malaysia are battling with internal corruption, so you know. If you want to pass through the borders of Asian countries easily, just print the word 'PRESS' on a ID Card size piece of Paper, laminate it, put it in a card holder and wear it around your neck. Always let them see the ID when they are interviewing you. Tell them you are a freelance journalist for newspapers all over the world. You won't spend up to 10 minutes with any official and they will let you go quickly- as long as you are clean and prohibited goods have not been found in your luggage.

It has worked for me and some of my friends. Just be confident when they are talking to you. Have a great day.

Wow! Nice advice

You did well but our brothers travelling there or residence there will be at the receiving end

Any mistakes they will be sent home

iScribb:
That serves you right

OMG, another moomoo

What do you want to do in Indonesia

chimauga:
MY ORDEAL AT SOEKARNO-HATTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT JAKARTA, INDONESIA

There is this derisive impression about Nigerian passport holders in most of the International Airports in different parts of the world, especially in Indonesia. The Immigration officers molest, exploit and forcibly take huge amount of bribes from Nigerians and threaten deportation if one refuses to give in. This happens even when one has not committed any offence. They show no respect to one’s Status so far you are carrying Nigerian passport.

On the 17th June 2019, I was once again greeted with harassment by Indonesian Immigration officers. The ugly incidence spurred me to take up a fight against their intimidation of Nigerians. I know that what they are doing is a corrupt practice and we are their major victims. No matter how our country is, we do not deserve such discriminatory extortion.

So, on that day, I arrived Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Jakarta, Indonesia, in an Emirates Airline from Dubai (EK0356). On disembarking from the Aircraft, I was walking to the queue when an immigration officer halted me. He asked for my passport. As he saw a Nigerian passport, he took me to their office and handed my passport over to his colleague. I greeted the officer sitting down in the office. He ignored me. Three times I greeted so he could say what the problem was but he remained silent and kept deaf ears. So I stood waiting for him to break his silence. I was standing, waiting for what I do not know, for 30 minutes before he muttered any word. Finally, he asked of my hotel reservation, return ticket and my Visa receipt, which I presented all to him.

The next question was, "do you want to go into the country?"

I said "yes".

He replied, "Calculate the fare of a one-way ticket from Jakarta to Abuja and give it to me to permit you entry".

I pretended as if I didn't understand what he was saying. The next thing he did was to google the cost of a one-way ticket with his mobile phone and showed it to me that it was $1,200usd (N432,000). I kept silent, trying to make a sense out of his embarrassing demand. But he didn’t stop there. He threatened to deport me by making copies of my travel documents.

At this point, I remembered my sad experience on the 9th October 2018 on this same Airport for refusing to bribe an Immigration officer with $200usd which nearly lead to my deportation. On that fateful day, they had already handed me over to the security and airline staff, reconfirmed my return ticket, checked in my luggage for eventual deportation. Had it not been I was able to place a call to my visa sponsor who intervened immediately by calling the airport Immigration boss and pleaded on my behalf, I would have been deported for no reason and would have lost huge sum and time. To the glory of God, the deportation was reversed. Meanwhile, this is a country I have been traveling to for 12 years without any infraction of their laws in whatever way. I never overstayed my visit, never broke any law, never even accused of any offense. My only offense was carrying Nigerian passport.

With that bad experience, which I was not ready to have a repeat of, I decided to be soft to this one demanding I should bribe him with $1,200usd. He later came down to $500 (N180,000) after a prolonged pleading. I immediately gave him the money but copied his name and saved it in my phone.

On the 21st June 2019, I prepared petitions which I addressed to the following parastatals:
1. Kedutaan Besar Republik Federsi Nigeria (Ambassador, Embassy of Federal Republic of Nigeria)
2. Direktorat Jendral Imigrasi (Comptroller of Immigration)
3. Direktorat Saber Pungli (Anti-Financial Fraud)
4. Pengaddan Dugaan Pidana Korups (Anti-Corruption).

First, I visited the Nigerian Embassy, met with the Ambassador and handed over my petition to him. He summoned an emergency meeting with all the Embassy's senior staff. He appeared very impressive. He commended my courage and promised to follow it up.

I stepped out of the Embassy and moved to Indonesian Immigration headquarters. On my arrival at the Immigration, it was difficult to gain access to meet with the overall Boss, the Jendral (comptroller), but when I claimed to be a Nigerian diplomat, they let me in. They ran security checks on me, gave me a form to fill my purpose of visit. I filled "High Rate of Bribery and Corruption Scandal Going on at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta". This form must have caught the attention of the Immigration boss as he didn't hesitate to request for me.

I gave him my petition. He read but couldn't believe that such was going on in their Airport. I provided the name of the Staff, which I copied into my phone. He typed the name in an application in his Laptop and it displayed the photo image of the Immigration officer. I confirmed the picture was that of the man who collected bribe of $500usd from me. He thanked me for coming up with such information, which he said no one had ever brought to his desk. He made a promise that he would investigate the report and invite me for an update within 48 hours.

In less than 24 hours of my report, I was invited by the Immigration boss. Upon my arrival to his office, I was given a VIP treat. The Jendral, that is the Immigration boss, started with an apology on behalf of the entire Immigration and Indonesian government. He went further to tell me that the officer who extorted money from me accepted he did it, and implicated four other senior “intelligent” officers who were involved in the indecent act. He narrated that the five senior officers had been dismissed immediately, that their dismissal letter would be given to them at the end of our meeting.

A sealed envelope was handed over to me. Inside the envelope were an apology letter and a sum of $1,600usd. The Jendral did not know that the money enclosed in the envelope was above the amount they collected from me. He was so amazed when I told him the money was in excess of my money. He decided to confirm it himself and discovered that the corrupt officers at the Airport enclosed all the money they forcibly collected from Nigerians on board the Emirates Airline that conveyed me to Jakarta that day.

That was how I salvaged other Nigerians who arrived the Airport from that moment onwards. I was told Nigerian passport holders are now being attended to with full respect at the point of entry. The era of $500 to $1,000 bribe for nothing has been defeated.

Funny enough, the Nigerian Ambassador to Indonesia, who I first reported this case to, did absolutely nothing about it. He once told the Consular General, Emabassy of Nigeria, Indonesia, to inform me that they were still trying to get an appointment with the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Indonesia. Two months gone and they are still booking appointments. If I had waited for them, my money would have gone and our citizens visiting Indonesia for businesses would still be suffering intimidation and extortion. This is why nobody cared to report this crime to our Embassy because they all know that the report will be swept under the carpet.

In the photos are the petitions (with different addresses), Immigration form (Purpose of visit) and Immigration Letter of refund.

@OP I think you should send a letter to the Nigerian Officials, attach the apology letter etc to it to shame them.

kalvoken:
Google is telling me that the Nigerian ambassador in Indonesian is one hAKEEM bAlogun.


You should have mentioned his name. That's how they rub shit on the faces in Nigerians in overseas.

who ask u?are u more cerebral than the op who chose not to mention his name? Nonsense

If dis country was actually a serious country, dat ambassador shud av bn recalled for negligence of duty.
But our govt is not serious about governance

Bless you sir/madam, this is what Buhari and his co-thieves wouldn't do for Nigerians.

That's a shame our own Consulate could not help.. very big shame.

This is what is wrong with a black man, they don't care about their brothers.. this started with slavery.

Same as the NFF that wanted to send a foreign head coach for a refresher course while leaving his indigenous assistants behind. A foreigner had to remind NFF to take care of his brothers.

What a shame!!!!

miqos02:
please what's the motivation for going to Swaziland?

Sorry i dont understand ur question, i am a research though.

SirBunky85:
who ask u?are u more cerebral than the op who chose not to mention his name? Nonsense

See this salah ram o, how did you manage to escape today's slaughter?

No wonder my visit to Indonesia was hitch free.

Unlike my earlier visit to SA where a police officer ask for my passport and money, he said Nigerians have money. And they always give dollars

Okoroawusa:
Bia nwokem,okwu immigration na passport ka anyi n'ako here!!!

and what's wrong if he says sth abt Jesus Christ here?

kalvoken:
See this salah ram o, how did you manage to escape today's slaughter?

another nonsense submission

I really appreciate your courageous act and this is very commendable. Hope this will encourage and oblige other Nigerians and immigrate to do same, in other to stop extortions in airports.

Our Immigration officers are also guilty of the same crime, you need to go to MMA, Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe airport Abj to see what these officers are capable of, especially if you're a first time traveller, they'll extort you to your last kobo. If u refuse to cooperate, you'd be delayed until u miss your flight. It's very pathetic. #SMH

God bless you

This action deserve a legendary status

SirBunky85:
another nonsense submission

No post will make sense to a senseless fellow.

Kudos OP. These are the kind of stories I love to read.

Trimakasi My beloved Nigeria. I experienced such ordeal June 2015. I paid 100$ and I never knew how or what to do cos it was my first and last visit to the country. Malaysia is far better in immigration that Indonesia that have high rate of corruption. Trimakasi Sama Sama

chimauga:
MY ORDEAL AT SOEKARNO-HATTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT JAKARTA, INDONESIA

There is this derisive impression about Nigerian passport holders in most of the International Airports in different parts of the world, especially in Indonesia. The Immigration officers molest, exploit and forcibly take huge amount of bribes from Nigerians and threaten deportation if one refuses to give in. This happens even when one has not committed any offence. They show no respect to one’s Status so far you are carrying Nigerian passport.

On the 17th June 2019, I was once again greeted with harassment by Indonesian Immigration officers. The ugly incidence spurred me to take up a fight against their intimidation of Nigerians. I know that what they are doing is a corrupt practice and we are their major victims. No matter how our country is, we do not deserve such discriminatory extortion.

So, on that day, I arrived Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Jakarta, Indonesia, in an Emirates Airline from Dubai (EK0356). On disembarking from the Aircraft, I was walking to the queue when an immigration officer halted me. He asked for my passport. As he saw a Nigerian passport, he took me to their office and handed my passport over to his colleague. I greeted the officer sitting down in the office. He ignored me. Three times I greeted so he could say what the problem was but he remained silent and kept deaf ears. So I stood waiting for him to break his silence. I was standing, waiting for what I do not know, for 30 minutes before he muttered any word. Finally, he asked of my hotel reservation, return ticket and my Visa receipt, which I presented all to him.

The next question was, "do you want to go into the country?"

I said "yes".

He replied, "Calculate the fare of a one-way ticket from Jakarta to Abuja and give it to me to permit you entry".

I pretended as if I didn't understand what he was saying. The next thing he did was to google the cost of a one-way ticket with his mobile phone and showed it to me that it was $1,200usd (N432,000). I kept silent, trying to make a sense out of his embarrassing demand. But he didn’t stop there. He threatened to deport me by making copies of my travel documents.

At this point, I remembered my sad experience on the 9th October 2018 on this same Airport for refusing to bribe an Immigration officer with $200usd which nearly lead to my deportation. On that fateful day, they had already handed me over to the security and airline staff, reconfirmed my return ticket, checked in my luggage for eventual deportation. Had it not been I was able to place a call to my visa sponsor who intervened immediately by calling the airport Immigration boss and pleaded on my behalf, I would have been deported for no reason and would have lost huge sum and time. To the glory of God, the deportation was reversed. Meanwhile, this is a country I have been traveling to for 12 years without any infraction of their laws in whatever way. I never overstayed my visit, never broke any law, never even accused of any offense. My only offense was carrying Nigerian passport.

With that bad experience, which I was not ready to have a repeat of, I decided to be soft to this one demanding I should bribe him with $1,200usd. He later came down to $500 (N180,000) after a prolonged pleading. I immediately gave him the money but copied his name and saved it in my phone.

On the 21st June 2019, I prepared petitions which I addressed to the following parastatals:
1. Kedutaan Besar Republik Federsi Nigeria (Ambassador, Embassy of Federal Republic of Nigeria)
2. Direktorat Jendral Imigrasi (Comptroller of Immigration)
3. Direktorat Saber Pungli (Anti-Financial Fraud)
4. Pengaddan Dugaan Pidana Korups (Anti-Corruption).

First, I visited the Nigerian Embassy, met with the Ambassador and handed over my petition to him. He summoned an emergency meeting with all the Embassy's senior staff. He appeared very impressive. He commended my courage and promised to follow it up.

I stepped out of the Embassy and moved to Indonesian Immigration headquarters. On my arrival at the Immigration, it was difficult to gain access to meet with the overall Boss, the Jendral (comptroller), but when I claimed to be a Nigerian diplomat, they let me in. They ran security checks on me, gave me a form to fill my purpose of visit. I filled "High Rate of Bribery and Corruption Scandal Going on at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta". This form must have caught the attention of the Immigration boss as he didn't hesitate to request for me.

I gave him my petition. He read but couldn't believe that such was going on in their Airport. I provided the name of the Staff, which I copied into my phone. He typed the name in an application in his Laptop and it displayed the photo image of the Immigration officer. I confirmed the picture was that of the man who collected bribe of $500usd from me. He thanked me for coming up with such information, which he said no one had ever brought to his desk. He made a promise that he would investigate the report and invite me for an update within 48 hours.

In less than 24 hours of my report, I was invited by the Immigration boss. Upon my arrival to his office, I was given a VIP treat. The Jendral, that is the Immigration boss, started with an apology on behalf of the entire Immigration and Indonesian government. He went further to tell me that the officer who extorted money from me accepted he did it, and implicated four other senior “intelligent” officers who were involved in the indecent act. He narrated that the five senior officers had been dismissed immediately, that their dismissal letter would be given to them at the end of our meeting.

A sealed envelope was handed over to me. Inside the envelope were an apology letter and a sum of $1,600usd. The Jendral did not know that the money enclosed in the envelope was above the amount they collected from me. He was so amazed when I told him the money was in excess of my money. He decided to confirm it himself and discovered that the corrupt officers at the Airport enclosed all the money they forcibly collected from Nigerians on board the Emirates Airline that conveyed me to Jakarta that day.

That was how I salvaged other Nigerians who arrived the Airport from that moment onwards. I was told Nigerian passport holders are now being attended to with full respect at the point of entry. The era of $500 to $1,000 bribe for nothing has been defeated.

Funny enough, the Nigerian Ambassador to Indonesia, who I first reported this case to, did absolutely nothing about it. He once told the Consular General, Emabassy of Nigeria, Indonesia, to inform me that they were still trying to get an appointment with the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Indonesia. Two months gone and they are still booking appointments. If I had waited for them, my money would have gone and our citizens visiting Indonesia for businesses would still be suffering intimidation and extortion. This is why nobody cared to report this crime to our Embassy because they all know that the report will be swept under the carpet.

In the photos are the petitions (with different addresses), Immigration form (Purpose of visit) and Immigration Letter of refund.

Well done sir... What you did is very commendable, evil thrives when good people remain quiet... God bless you.
You have a clean track record with that country so you shouldn't be going through such... Also this will make their comptroller investigate the deportations of Nigeria... Once again kudos

CosmicPhoenix:

was it god that wrote the petitions? instead of thanking god that did nothing,thank the op.

[s][/s]

Oga go and seat down! It's God that did it. If don't believe God exist then go and kill yourself. You will see Him in seconds

This is very very impressive.
Good job OP.

pocohantas:
[b][/b]
Anything for your boys?

seems feminism extend beyond gender... What do I know

chimauga:
MY ORDEAL AT SOEKARNO-HATTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT JAKARTA, INDONESIA

There is this derisive impression about Nigerian passport holders in most of the International Airports in different parts of the world, especially in Indonesia. The Immigration officers molest, exploit and forcibly take huge amount of bribes from Nigerians and threaten deportation if one refuses to give in. This happens even when one has not committed any offence. They show no respect to one’s Status so far you are carrying Nigerian passport.

On the 17th June 2019, I was once again greeted with harassment by Indonesian Immigration officers. The ugly incidence spurred me to take up a fight against their intimidation of Nigerians. I know that what they are doing is a corrupt practice and we are their major victims. No matter how our country is, we do not deserve such discriminatory extortion.

So, on that day, I arrived Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Jakarta, Indonesia, in an Emirates Airline from Dubai (EK0356). On disembarking from the Aircraft, I was walking to the queue when an immigration officer halted me. He asked for my passport. As he saw a Nigerian passport, he took me to their office and handed my passport over to his colleague. I greeted the officer sitting down in the office. He ignored me. Three times I greeted so he could say what the problem was but he remained silent and kept deaf ears. So I stood waiting for him to break his silence. I was standing, waiting for what I do not know, for 30 minutes before he muttered any word. Finally, he asked of my hotel reservation, return ticket and my Visa receipt, which I presented all to him.

The next question was, "do you want to go into the country?"

I said "yes".

He replied, "Calculate the fare of a one-way ticket from Jakarta to Abuja and give it to me to permit you entry".

I pretended as if I didn't understand what he was saying. The next thing he did was to google the cost of a one-way ticket with his mobile phone and showed it to me that it was $1,200usd (N432,000). I kept silent, trying to make a sense out of his embarrassing demand. But he didn’t stop there. He threatened to deport me by making copies of my travel documents.

At this point, I remembered my sad experience on the 9th October 2018 on this same Airport for refusing to bribe an Immigration officer with $200usd which nearly lead to my deportation. On that fateful day, they had already handed me over to the security and airline staff, reconfirmed my return ticket, checked in my luggage for eventual deportation. Had it not been I was able to place a call to my visa sponsor who intervened immediately by calling the airport Immigration boss and pleaded on my behalf, I would have been deported for no reason and would have lost huge sum and time. To the glory of God, the deportation was reversed. Meanwhile, this is a country I have been traveling to for 12 years without any infraction of their laws in whatever way. I never overstayed my visit, never broke any law, never even accused of any offense. My only offense was carrying Nigerian passport.

With that bad experience, which I was not ready to have a repeat of, I decided to be soft to this one demanding I should bribe him with $1,200usd. He later came down to $500 (N180,000) after a prolonged pleading. I immediately gave him the money but copied his name and saved it in my phone.

On the 21st June 2019, I prepared petitions which I addressed to the following parastatals:
1. Kedutaan Besar Republik Federsi Nigeria (Ambassador, Embassy of Federal Republic of Nigeria)
2. Direktorat Jendral Imigrasi (Comptroller of Immigration)
3. Direktorat Saber Pungli (Anti-Financial Fraud)
4. Pengaddan Dugaan Pidana Korups (Anti-Corruption).

First, I visited the Nigerian Embassy, met with the Ambassador and handed over my petition to him. He summoned an emergency meeting with all the Embassy's senior staff. He appeared very impressive. He commended my courage and promised to follow it up.

I stepped out of the Embassy and moved to Indonesian Immigration headquarters. On my arrival at the Immigration, it was difficult to gain access to meet with the overall Boss, the Jendral (comptroller), but when I claimed to be a Nigerian diplomat, they let me in. They ran security checks on me, gave me a form to fill my purpose of visit. I filled "High Rate of Bribery and Corruption Scandal Going on at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta". This form must have caught the attention of the Immigration boss as he didn't hesitate to request for me.

I gave him my petition. He read but couldn't believe that such was going on in their Airport. I provided the name of the Staff, which I copied into my phone. He typed the name in an application in his Laptop and it displayed the photo image of the Immigration officer. I confirmed the picture was that of the man who collected bribe of $500usd from me. He thanked me for coming up with such information, which he said no one had ever brought to his desk. He made a promise that he would investigate the report and invite me for an update within 48 hours.

In less than 24 hours of my report, I was invited by the Immigration boss. Upon my arrival to his office, I was given a VIP treat. The Jendral, that is the Immigration boss, started with an apology on behalf of the entire Immigration and Indonesian government. He went further to tell me that the officer who extorted money from me accepted he did it, and implicated four other senior “intelligent” officers who were involved in the indecent act. He narrated that the five senior officers had been dismissed immediately, that their dismissal letter would be given to them at the end of our meeting.

A sealed envelope was handed over to me. Inside the envelope were an apology letter and a sum of $1,600usd. The Jendral did not know that the money enclosed in the envelope was above the amount they collected from me. He was so amazed when I told him the money was in excess of my money. He decided to confirm it himself and discovered that the corrupt officers at the Airport enclosed all the money they forcibly collected from Nigerians on board the Emirates Airline that conveyed me to Jakarta that day.

That was how I salvaged other Nigerians who arrived the Airport from that moment onwards. I was told Nigerian passport holders are now being attended to with full respect at the point of entry. The era of $500 to $1,000 bribe for nothing has been defeated.

Funny enough, the Nigerian Ambassador to Indonesia, who I first reported this case to, did absolutely nothing about it. He once told the Consular General, Emabassy of Nigeria, Indonesia, to inform me that they were still trying to get an appointment with the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Indonesia. Two months gone and they are still booking appointments. If I had waited for them, my money would have gone and our citizens visiting Indonesia for businesses would still be suffering intimidation and extortion. This is why nobody cared to report this crime to our Embassy because they all know that the report will be swept under the carpet.

In the photos are the petitions (with different addresses), Immigration form (Purpose of visit) and Immigration Letter of refund.

God bless you.

I'm proud of you sir.Do you know that this same rubbish is happening to Nigerians at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya.
Kenya Immigration officers at their Airport and their Policemen at their Airport are extorting Nigerians.
They are doing it with impunity.I had the experience in February 7,2019.The corruptions in Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya. Is on another level.
I was extorted by their Immigration officers and their Policemen at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya..

chimauga:
MY ORDEAL AT SOEKARNO-HATTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT JAKARTA, INDONESIA

There is this derisive impression about Nigerian passport holders in most of the International Airports in different parts of the world, especially in Indonesia. The Immigration officers molest, exploit and forcibly take huge amount of bribes from Nigerians and threaten deportation if one refuses to give in. This happens even when one has not committed any offence. They show no respect to one’s Status so far you are carrying Nigerian passport.

On the 17th June 2019, I was once again greeted with harassment by Indonesian Immigration officers. The ugly incidence spurred me to take up a fight against their intimidation of Nigerians. I know that what they are doing is a corrupt practice and we are their major victims. No matter how our country is, we do not deserve such discriminatory extortion.

So, on that day, I arrived Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Jakarta, Indonesia, in an Emirates Airline from Dubai (EK0356). On disembarking from the Aircraft, I was walking to the queue when an immigration officer halted me. He asked for my passport. As he saw a Nigerian passport, he took me to their office and handed my passport over to his colleague. I greeted the officer sitting down in the office. He ignored me. Three times I greeted so he could say what the problem was but he remained silent and kept deaf ears. So I stood waiting for him to break his silence. I was standing, waiting for what I do not know, for 30 minutes before he muttered any word. Finally, he asked of my hotel reservation, return ticket and my Visa receipt, which I presented all to him.

The next question was, "do you want to go into the country?"

I said "yes".

He replied, "Calculate the fare of a one-way ticket from Jakarta to Abuja and give it to me to permit you entry".

I pretended as if I didn't understand what he was saying. The next thing he did was to google the cost of a one-way ticket with his mobile phone and showed it to me that it was $1,200usd (N432,000). I kept silent, trying to make a sense out of his embarrassing demand. But he didn’t stop there. He threatened to deport me by making copies of my travel documents.

At this point, I remembered my sad experience on the 9th October 2018 on this same Airport for refusing to bribe an Immigration officer with $200usd which nearly lead to my deportation. On that fateful day, they had already handed me over to the security and airline staff, reconfirmed my return ticket, checked in my luggage for eventual deportation. Had it not been I was able to place a call to my visa sponsor who intervened immediately by calling the airport Immigration boss and pleaded on my behalf, I would have been deported for no reason and would have lost huge sum and time. To the glory of God, the deportation was reversed. Meanwhile, this is a country I have been traveling to for 12 years without any infraction of their laws in whatever way. I never overstayed my visit, never broke any law, never even accused of any offense. My only offense was carrying Nigerian passport.

With that bad experience, which I was not ready to have a repeat of, I decided to be soft to this one demanding I should bribe him with $1,200usd. He later came down to $500 (N180,000) after a prolonged pleading. I immediately gave him the money but copied his name and saved it in my phone.

On the 21st June 2019, I prepared petitions which I addressed to the following parastatals:
1. Kedutaan Besar Republik Federsi Nigeria (Ambassador, Embassy of Federal Republic of Nigeria)
2. Direktorat Jendral Imigrasi (Comptroller of Immigration)
3. Direktorat Saber Pungli (Anti-Financial Fraud)
4. Pengaddan Dugaan Pidana Korups (Anti-Corruption).

First, I visited the Nigerian Embassy, met with the Ambassador and handed over my petition to him. He summoned an emergency meeting with all the Embassy's senior staff. He appeared very impressive. He commended my courage and promised to follow it up.

I stepped out of the Embassy and moved to Indonesian Immigration headquarters. On my arrival at the Immigration, it was difficult to gain access to meet with the overall Boss, the Jendral (comptroller), but when I claimed to be a Nigerian diplomat, they let me in. They ran security checks on me, gave me a form to fill my purpose of visit. I filled "High Rate of Bribery and Corruption Scandal Going on at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta". This form must have caught the attention of the Immigration boss as he didn't hesitate to request for me.

I gave him my petition. He read but couldn't believe that such was going on in their Airport. I provided the name of the Staff, which I copied into my phone. He typed the name in an application in his Laptop and it displayed the photo image of the Immigration officer. I confirmed the picture was that of the man who collected bribe of $500usd from me. He thanked me for coming up with such information, which he said no one had ever brought to his desk. He made a promise that he would investigate the report and invite me for an update within 48 hours.

In less than 24 hours of my report, I was invited by the Immigration boss. Upon my arrival to his office, I was given a VIP treat. The Jendral, that is the Immigration boss, started with an apology on behalf of the entire Immigration and Indonesian government. He went further to tell me that the officer who extorted money from me accepted he did it, and implicated four other senior “intelligent” officers who were involved in the indecent act. He narrated that the five senior officers had been dismissed immediately, that their dismissal letter would be given to them at the end of our meeting.

A sealed envelope was handed over to me. Inside the envelope were an apology letter and a sum of $1,600usd. The Jendral did not know that the money enclosed in the envelope was above the amount they collected from me. He was so amazed when I told him the money was in excess of my money. He decided to confirm it himself and discovered that the corrupt officers at the Airport enclosed all the money they forcibly collected from Nigerians on board the Emirates Airline that conveyed me to Jakarta that day.

That was how I salvaged other Nigerians who arrived the Airport from that moment onwards. I was told Nigerian passport holders are now being attended to with full respect at the point of entry. The era of $500 to $1,000 bribe for nothing has been defeated.

Funny enough, the Nigerian Ambassador to Indonesia, who I first reported this case to, did absolutely nothing about it. He once told the Consular General, Emabassy of Nigeria, Indonesia, to inform me that they were still trying to get an appointment with the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Indonesia. Two months gone and they are still booking appointments. If I had waited for them, my money would have gone and our citizens visiting Indonesia for businesses would still be suffering intimidation and extortion. This is why nobody cared to report this crime to our Embassy because they all know that the report will be swept under the carpet.

In the photos are the petitions (with different addresses), Immigration form (Purpose of visit) and Immigration Letter of refund.

Kudos OP for your dauntless courage in fighting the system. Meanwhile here in Nigeria FAAN, Customs and all military and paramilitary groups at our airports are the ones milking us dry, imagining bribing to leave Nigeria only to land at your destination and still be harassed for holding a Nigerian passport. kudos again

chimauga:
MY ORDEAL AT SOEKARNO-HATTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT JAKARTA, INDONESIA

There is this derisive impression about Nigerian passport holders in most of the International Airports in different parts of the world, especially in Indonesia. The Immigration officers molest, exploit and forcibly take huge amount of bribes from Nigerians and threaten deportation if one refuses to give in. This happens even when one has not committed any offence. They show no respect to one’s Status so far you are carrying Nigerian passport.

On the 17th June 2019, I was once again greeted with harassment by Indonesian Immigration officers. The ugly incidence spurred me to take up a fight against their intimidation of Nigerians. I know that what they are doing is a corrupt practice and we are their major victims. No matter how our country is, we do not deserve such discriminatory extortion.

So, on that day, I arrived Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Jakarta, Indonesia, in an Emirates Airline from Dubai (EK0356). On disembarking from the Aircraft, I was walking to the queue when an immigration officer halted me. He asked for my passport. As he saw a Nigerian passport, he took me to their office and handed my passport over to his colleague. I greeted the officer sitting down in the office. He ignored me. Three times I greeted so he could say what the problem was but he remained silent and kept deaf ears. So I stood waiting for him to break his silence. I was standing, waiting for what I do not know, for 30 minutes before he muttered any word. Finally, he asked of my hotel reservation, return ticket and my Visa receipt, which I presented all to him.

The next question was, "do you want to go into the country?"

I said "yes".

He replied, "Calculate the fare of a one-way ticket from Jakarta to Abuja and give it to me to permit you entry".

I pretended as if I didn't understand what he was saying. The next thing he did was to google the cost of a one-way ticket with his mobile phone and showed it to me that it was $1,200usd (N432,000). I kept silent, trying to make a sense out of his embarrassing demand. But he didn’t stop there. He threatened to deport me by making copies of my travel documents.

At this point, I remembered my sad experience on the 9th October 2018 on this same Airport for refusing to bribe an Immigration officer with $200usd which nearly lead to my deportation. On that fateful day, they had already handed me over to the security and airline staff, reconfirmed my return ticket, checked in my luggage for eventual deportation. Had it not been I was able to place a call to my visa sponsor who intervened immediately by calling the airport Immigration boss and pleaded on my behalf, I would have been deported for no reason and would have lost huge sum and time. To the glory of God, the deportation was reversed. Meanwhile, this is a country I have been traveling to for 12 years without any infraction of their laws in whatever way. I never overstayed my visit, never broke any law, never even accused of any offense. My only offense was carrying Nigerian passport.

With that bad experience, which I was not ready to have a repeat of, I decided to be soft to this one demanding I should bribe him with $1,200usd. He later came down to $500 (N180,000) after a prolonged pleading. I immediately gave him the money but copied his name and saved it in my phone.

On the 21st June 2019, I prepared petitions which I addressed to the following parastatals:
1. Kedutaan Besar Republik Federsi Nigeria (Ambassador, Embassy of Federal Republic of Nigeria)
2. Direktorat Jendral Imigrasi (Comptroller of Immigration)
3. Direktorat Saber Pungli (Anti-Financial Fraud)
4. Pengaddan Dugaan Pidana Korups (Anti-Corruption).

First, I visited the Nigerian Embassy, met with the Ambassador and handed over my petition to him. He summoned an emergency meeting with all the Embassy's senior staff. He appeared very impressive. He commended my courage and promised to follow it up.

I stepped out of the Embassy and moved to Indonesian Immigration headquarters. On my arrival at the Immigration, it was difficult to gain access to meet with the overall Boss, the Jendral (comptroller), but when I claimed to be a Nigerian diplomat, they let me in. They ran security checks on me, gave me a form to fill my purpose of visit. I filled "High Rate of Bribery and Corruption Scandal Going on at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta". This form must have caught the attention of the Immigration boss as he didn't hesitate to request for me.

I gave him my petition. He read but couldn't believe that such was going on in their Airport. I provided the name of the Staff, which I copied into my phone. He typed the name in an application in his Laptop and it displayed the photo image of the Immigration officer. I confirmed the picture was that of the man who collected bribe of $500usd from me. He thanked me for coming up with such information, which he said no one had ever brought to his desk. He made a promise that he would investigate the report and invite me for an update within 48 hours.

In less than 24 hours of my report, I was invited by the Immigration boss. Upon my arrival to his office, I was given a VIP treat. The Jendral, that is the Immigration boss, started with an apology on behalf of the entire Immigration and Indonesian government. He went further to tell me that the officer who extorted money from me accepted he did it, and implicated four other senior “intelligent” officers who were involved in the indecent act. He narrated that the five senior officers had been dismissed immediately, that their dismissal letter would be given to them at the end of our meeting.

A sealed envelope was handed over to me. Inside the envelope were an apology letter and a sum of $1,600usd. The Jendral did not know that the money enclosed in the envelope was above the amount they collected from me. He was so amazed when I told him the money was in excess of my money. He decided to confirm it himself and discovered that the corrupt officers at the Airport enclosed all the money they forcibly collected from Nigerians on board the Emirates Airline that conveyed me to Jakarta that day.

That was how I salvaged other Nigerians who arrived the Airport from that moment onwards. I was told Nigerian passport holders are now being attended to with full respect at the point of entry. The era of $500 to $1,000 bribe for nothing has been defeated.

Funny enough, the Nigerian Ambassador to Indonesia, who I first reported this case to, did absolutely nothing about it. He once told the Consular General, Emabassy of Nigeria, Indonesia, to inform me that they were still trying to get an appointment with the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Indonesia. Two months gone and they are still booking appointments. If I had waited for them, my money would have gone and our citizens visiting Indonesia for businesses would still be suffering intimidation and extortion. This is why nobody cared to report this crime to our Embassy because they all know that the report will be swept under the carpet.

In the photos are the petitions (with different addresses), Immigration form (Purpose of visit) and Immigration Letter of refund.

Your story is quite touching. Will you like to share your experience on my blog?

Brother, only if you know how I felt about this post, your courage, bravery and smartness got me to the point of crying.. I'm a Nigerian citizen living in Indonesia for 5 years and even married to their woman, but if I tell you how this immigration officers kept harrasing us at the airport? I was suprised coming in last week and no one approached me for my passport nor harrased me as usual. Wow..God really used you to save us from the hands of this evil men. Please I will like to meet you when next you're in Jakarta, lodge you and give you anything you want for the day.. Here's my email 'innocentukwuoma@gmail.com' don't fail to contact me please

@OP I appreciate your fearless and bravery act. You have started an act of stopping the humiliation that Nigerian Passport holders go through on daily basis in the hands of immigration officers across the globe. So many to come in the coming days. My boss also narrated his own ordeal at Heathrow Airport where a young female immigration officer tried to subject him to secondary check after his passport had been stamped in. Senior officer was called in and he stood his ground and refuse the secondary check, he brought out his ID as a lecturer, show evidences that he has been passing through Heathrow Airport for over 20 years, and demanded that the young female immigration officer apologize to him. They had no other option than to apologize.

Please write another petition against that lazy Ambassador who could not perform his duty. Send it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja and copy the The President and The National Assembly. You have started the correction of unnecessary embarrassments Nigerians go through in the hands of immigration officers across the globe.

You are truly a man.

Based on my experience with the Nigerian embassy abroad, I would have been surprised if they reached out based your complaint. The are so unreliable. God forbid you have any problems in a foreign country they are the last people to hope on. All they know is to collect money above the official rates for their services. Very annoying set of people.