Hundreds of Nigerians are facing distress after the sudden removal of Saana Pay, a controversial payment platform previously used by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) for passport applications, leaving millions of naira trapped and applicants unsure of how to recover their money.
Passport applicants and agents who spoke to SaharaReporters on Thursday and Friday confirmed that the Saana Pay option had been silently taken off the NIS website, leaving them stranded and unable to access or retrieve funds deposited into the platform’s
“As we speak now, the Immigration has removed the Saana Pay platform from the website. I logged into their portal this morning and realised they had taken it down,” one affected applicant said.
“Now that they’ve removed it, we don’t know how to get our money back. The payments we made are hanging. We don’t know what will happen to our money now.”
Another passport applicant decried the disruption caused to their urgent travel plans. “I need a passport very urgently, but this whole issue is delaying me. My money is also inside the wallet, trapped. I pray the NIS will listen to our cries and resolve this quickly.”
The crisis follows weeks of frustration over the controversial payment switch that saw the NIS dump its former system, TeasyPay, in favour of Saana Pay.
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As SaharaReporters earlier reported, the changeover sparked widespread panic among business operators and passport seekers, many of whom said they were compelled to open digital wallets with Saana Pay to make payments.
“I work as a downloader at the Immigration office. What we do is help applicants make payments for passport applications,” an agent told SaharaReporters.
“TeasyPay was removed from the website, and we were told to use Saana Pay. We funded wallets, but for over two weeks now, we’ve not been able to make payments or withdraw. The money is just stuck.”
“Personally, I have over N500,000 trapped. I had to borrow money to refund some applicants,” another agent added. “Now that Saana Pay has been removed, we don’t even know what to tell customers. Some are threatening to arrest us.”
Applicants also complained of non-functional wallet transfers, delayed transactions, and a lack of response from Saana Pay’s customer service.
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“I did a wallet transfer yesterday. It’s still hanging. It’s been two weeks of silence from their end. The only message I got was that the issue is with NIS and we should contact Immigration,” one person said.
A source in the Ministry of Interior told SaharaReporters that some senior officials in the ministry and the Nigeria Immigration Service may have links to the company operating Saana Pay.
“We gathered that top people in the Interior Ministry under Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo’s leadership are part of the founders or stakeholders in Saana Pay, or at least have ties with those behind it,” the source alleged.
“That’s why TeasyPay was removed. It’s about vested interests,” the source said.
When contacted for a response, the Nigeria Immigration Service’s spokesperson, Akinsola Akinlabi, admitted that the agency was aware of the technical and financial crisis caused by the platform.
“Yes, the Service is aware of this and is working around the clock to resolve it,” he told SaharaReporters. “As we speak, the technical team is working on the issue to make sure the payment system works seamlessly for all users.”
However, Akinlabi denied any link between NIS or Interior Ministry officials and Saana Pay’s ownership.
“The claim that top officers in the Service and the Ministry brought Saana Pay because of their connection with the ownership of the platform is not true,” he insisted.
As of 4.15 pm on Friday, SaharaReporters can confirm that the Saana Pay link was not active on the NIS portal, with no official update issued to the public, leaving applicants and agents in limbo.
Affected Nigerians are now demanding full refunds, accountability, and transparency from the Ministry of Interior and the Immigration Service.
