Citizens Allege Extortion and Exploitation at Old Town ID Card Center

Citizens in the North West Region of Cameroon, facing significant hurdles and alleged exploitation in their attempts to obtain or renew national identity cards, are increasingly frustrated and angry. An open letter sent to MMI has cast a harsh light on the situation at the sole issuance post in Old Town, Bamenda, the only accessible centre for residents of Ndop, Bambili, Bafut, and surrounding areas.

The letter, penned by a concerned citizen on behalf of the “voiceless,” details a litany of grievances against the officials managing the already overcrowded center. These allegations paint a grim picture of a system rife with corruption and deliberate obstruction, leaving ordinary people at the mercy of seemingly predatory practices.

The True Cost of a Cameroonian ID Card

According to the open letter, the process of getting an ID card has become a long and costly ordeal. The letter states, “Appointments schedule a month after online enrolment,” sharply contradicting the government’s promise of a swift 48-hour processing time following physical enrolment under the new biometric ID card system.This delay forces many, particularly those travelling from distant towns, to incur additional costs for accommodation in Bamenda as they wait for their turn.

The letter further alleges that the collection of completed documents is another bottleneck, with citizens having to wait for “days-long” periods.

However, the most serious accusations leveled in the letter concern blatant financial exploitation. Accusations arise against officials for charging 5,000 FCFA for “expedited services,” a fee lacking official approval. This creates a two-tier system where those who can afford to pay get fast-tracked, while others languish in the queue.

The letter further states that applicants for ID card renewals must obtain and pay for a certificate of nationality and a certified copy of their birth certificate.. This is reportedly contrary to the official guidelines from the General Delegation for National Security (DGSN), which for renewals of expired cards, typically only require a photocopy of the birth certificate and the old ID card. The official cost for a new ID card is 10,000 FCFA, but these additional, allegedly unnecessary, requirements can significantly inflate the cost for citizens.

The exploitation does not end there. The letter accuses officials of demanding payments to “facilitate document processing” and even charging 500 FCFA per page to print the online enrollment forms, a service that should ideally be straightforward and minimally priced.

A System Riddled with Corruption?

“This is blatant exploitation,” the author of the letter declares, urging “the competent authorities to take immediate action to address these issues and protect the rights of our citizens.”

These allegations from the North West Region is similar with broader, nationwide frustrations regarding the process of issuing national identity cards. While the government launched a new biometric system in February 2025 with the promise of a more efficient and secure process, reports from across the country suggest that bureaucratic hurdles and opportunities for corruption persist.

The situation in Old Town, as described in the open letter, serves as a microcosm of a larger problem. For the people of the North West Region, already grappling with the challenges of a long-running crisis, the inability to easily and affordably obtain a crucial document like a national ID card is an added and unwelcome burden.

MMI has contacted the DGSN for a comment on these allegations but has yet to receive a response. The concerned citizens of the North West Region await a tangible intervention from the authorities to put an end to the alleged extortion and restore a semblance of order and fairness to the ID card issuance process.

MMI