here - Cooperazione Italiana allo Sviluppo

tourism visa is requested only exclusively by women, perhaps the level of attentionto this phenomena could be increased 31 .3.3 Connivance and controlsTo affirm that there is connivance on the part of officials for the granting ofpassports or visas is always difficult and risky, it is particularly complex todiscover if one is faced with a single unfaithful employee or instead if one isdealing with a diffused phenomenon of corruption at the institutional level.As far as the visas are concerned, it can be recalled that some years ago therewas a criminal proceeding against two employees of the Italian Embassy in Lagoswho granted with ease, against payment of a sum of money, visas with Turin as adestination.The evidence which follows refers to events which occurred in 1998: “TheEmbassy is his. He goes in the morning and leaves in the afternoon with 20passports. At the airport of Lagos they did not even look at me because everythinghad already been bought” (Interview Victim No.7). After that isolated case, therehave been no other judicial cases.Nevertheless, it would be very useful to monitor requesting persons andtypologies of visas issued.However, regarding the passports, investigations have brought about someresults at least on the knowledge of the phenomenon. In various telephonicinterceptions a person from Italy orders, through the interlocutor in Nigeria, apassport, indicating the data that it should contain. In some cases Nigerianpassports sent by private courier have been found 32 .How these documents are procured and with what connivance is difficult tosay. From the interviews with an official of the police, who had the occasion inNigeria to meet some Nigerian officials, we know that it is not possible to issue apassport in Nigeria without the physical presence of the person requesting it:therefore it is obvious that such documents are, at least ideologically, false.In the first investigations undertaken from the declarations of the women andtelephone interceptions, it appeared that some local authorities were corrupted insuch a way as to obtain passports and also certificates of nationality, but so farthere has never been a complete report on this involvement.On the basis of the declarations of the victims, in Nigeria there do not seem tobe in existence real counterfeiters who falsify passports because in reality, uponpayment, one can obtain any passport.31On this point see Chapter VII.32On this point see Chapter VII.