Immigration Service (NIS) Updates Passport Tracking System Amid Public Outcry Over Delay

Immigration Service (NIS) updates passport tracking system amid public outcry over delay. The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has announced the rollout of an enhanced passport tracking feature.

The update posted by the Service on X on Thursday followed rising public clamour over delays in passport issuance and collection.

According to the Service, it had observed that hundreds of passports produced had remained uncollected, leading to increasing complaints from applicants. The updated system introduces a new status—“PRODUCED (PASSPORT PRODUCED, READY FOR COLLECTION)”—to the existing passport tracker.

The feature is intended to give applicants clearer visibility on when their passports are ready for pickup or courier delivery, thereby reducing uncertainty around processing timelines.

The development followed weeks of heightened criticisms from passport applicants, including prominent Nigerians, who have taken to social media to express frustration with the process.

Immigration Service

Public outcry on X had seen users report delays stretching into several months, as well as allegations of deliberate bottlenecks within the system.

However, the Service said the new tracker status would help applicants distinguish between production delays and passports that are ready but yet to be retrieved.

“This update enhances the existing tracking system, and helps applicants stay informed about timelines for passports produced and awaiting collection (for physical collection) or produced but not delivered (for courier delivery),” the Service stated.

Venezuela’s Acting President Rodriguez To Releases More Prisoners After Phone Call With President Trump

Venezuela’s acting President Rodriguez to releases more prisoners after phone call with President Trump. Venezuela’s acting President, Delcy Rodriguez, has pledged to continue the release of detainees held under the administration of ousted President Nicolas Maduro, describing her first phone call with United States President Donald Trump as “long, productive and courteous.”

Rodriguez said on Wednesday that the discussion focused on a bilateral agenda aimed at benefiting both countries, adding that the process of freeing detainees “has not yet concluded” as Venezuela enters what she called a “new political moment.”

“This opportunity is for Venezuela and for the people of Venezuela to be able to see reflected a new moment where coexistence, where living together, where recognition of the other allows building and erecting a new spirituality,” she said.

Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform, said the call covered oil, minerals, trade and national security, describing a potential US–Venezuela partnership as “spectacular.”

“I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela,” Trump said at the White House, praising Rodriguez as a “terrific person” and noting that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had also been in contact with her.

Venezuelan Interim President Delcy Rodríguez

Trump’s comments come weeks after President Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were arrested by US forces during an attack on Caracas on January 3 and are currently being held in the United States.

The US president said last week that a second wave of attacks on Venezuela had been cancelled amid “cooperation” from leaders in Caracas, including the release of a large number of prisoners as a sign of “seeking peace” with Washington.

Rodriguez, flanked by National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, also pledged “strict” enforcement of the law while crediting Maduro with initiating the release of detainees.

“Messages of hatred, intolerance, acts of violence will not be permitted,” she said.

Iran Government Reopens Airspace After Temporary Closure Amid US Attack Threats

Iran government reopens airspace after temporary closure amid US attack threats. Iran has reopened its airspace after temporarily halting most flights overnight amid escalating tensions with the United States and threats by President Donald Trump to attack the country over alleged crackdown on protesters.

According to notices posted by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), commercial flights were prohibited from entering Iranian airspace between 1:45 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. local time (22:15 to 00:30 GMT), and again from 4:44 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. (01:14 to 03:30 GMT) on Thursday.

The FAA said the restrictions applied to all flights without “prior approval” from Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation (CAO).

According to Aljazeera, flight-tracking service FlightRadar showed only three aircraft flying over Iran as of 6:05 a.m. local time, with dozens of others diverting around its borders. The country’s airspace was fully reopened around 7:00 a.m., reports said.

Neither the FAA nor the CAO immediately responded to requests for comment.

The temporary closure came hours after President Trump renewed threats of military action against Tehran following a violent crackdown on anti-government protests in Iran.

The United States and the United Kingdom also withdrew some military personnel from the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar on Wednesday, after a senior Iranian official warned that Tehran would target US forces in the Middle East if Washington launched an attack.

Iran

Several countries have since issued advisories to their citizens in the region amid growing fears of escalation.

Trump later appeared to soften his tone, saying on Wednesday that he had received assurances from “important sources” that the killings of protesters in Iran had stopped.

Aviation safety analysts warned that the temporary closure could point to deeper security concerns.

Safe Airspace, a website run by the aviation safety organisation OpsGroup, said the restrictions might indicate “further security or military activity,” adding that there was a “risk of missile launches or heightened air defence, increasing the risk of misidentification of civil traffic.”