Consequences of tearing, mutilating international passport

A viral video of a female passenger who publicly tore her husband’s passport upon arrival at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos has set many tongues wagging.

Many Nigerians on social media have condemned the woman’s action and called for an appropriate investigation into the matter so the law take its course

A damaged passport, depending on the circumstances, can be as detrimental to one’s travel plans as an expired one.

Many countries have strict regulations regarding damaged passports, and using a compromised document may lead to denied entry or other legal complications.

Not just in Nigeria, other countries including the United States frown at the destruction, concealment, removal, confiscation, or possession of immigration documents. Such an act is punishable under the law.

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has launched a formal investigation into the incident.

The Nation gathered the family involved are self-proclaimed content creators with over 4000 followers on TikTok.

Their profile bio on TikTok reads: “This is Jejola Family TV, we are content creators.”

A look through the creators’ page shows they are reputed for creating prank videos and other bait contents.

Here’s what the law says – Immigration Act of 2015:

On Monday, the NIS said the individual (the woman) has been identified and invited for further investigation.

“If the allegations are substantiated, her actions would have constituted a breach of Section 10(b) of the Immigration Act 2015 (as amended), with corresponding penalties outlined under Section 10(h) of the same Act,” the statement said.

According to the law, the deliberate destruction of a passport is a serious offense, punishable by fines, imprisonment or both. The specific penalties are outlined under Section 10(h) of the Act, which details the consequences of such offenses.

Apart from tearing the passport, the Naira, Nigeria’s currency, is another national symbol whose mutilation or destruction is penalized by the law. Section 21 of the CBN Act specifically prohibits the abuse of Naira notes.

According to Section 10(b) and (h) of the Immigration Act any individual who “unlawfully alters, tampers with or mutilates any passport or any pages,” or “attempts, abets, counsels, procures, connives or conspires with any other person to do any of the acts” is “liable of conviction to imprisonment for a term of ten years or a fine of Two Million Naira or both,” the Act reads.

A passport is considered property of the Nigerian government.

Also, Section 451 of the Criminal Code Act in Nigeria says that “Any person who willfully and unlawfully destroys or damages any property, is guilty of an offence, which, unless otherwise stated, is a misdemeanor and he is liable, if no other punishment is provided, to imprisonment for two years.”

Subsection 7 of the Criminal Code Act says that “(7) If the property in question is a document which is deposited or kept in a public office, or which is evidence of title to any land or estate in land, the offender is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for seven years.”

© The Nation Newspaper