"Police extract" and "affidavit of loss" get treated as interchangeable fairly often. They are not. They come from different institutions, and some processes want both.
Two documents, two origins
A police extract comes from the Nigeria Police Force. It is a police record that you reported something lost, requested on POSSAP. See the police extract for a lost item for how that request works.
An affidavit of loss is a sworn statement, made before a court official, not the police. It is your own account of the loss, given under oath, rather than a police-held record.
What each one actually states
The police extract documents that a report was made to the police, at a given time, about a specific loss. It reflects what you told the police, logged on their side.
The affidavit of loss is a statement you make yourself, sworn before an authorised official, describing what was lost and the circumstances. It carries legal weight as a sworn declaration, separate from any police involvement.
Who can take the affidavit
The Oaths Act allows a commissioner for oaths, a notary public, or a judge of the Federal High Court or a higher court to take your affidavit. That is a court-linked authority, distinct from the police station where you would request a police extract.
Why NIS lists both for a lost passport
The Nigeria Immigration Service's guidance for a lost passport lists a police extract for the loss, a High Court affidavit of loss, an NPC birth certificate or court declaration of age and a local government certificate of indigeneship. A police extract and a High Court affidavit both appear on that list, alongside other documents.
This tells you plainly that one does not stand in for the other, at least for this specific use. An applicant who assumes the affidavit alone is enough, or the police extract alone is enough, is working from an incomplete list.
Getting the order right
Request your police extract first, while the facts are easy to state consistently. Then swear your affidavit, describing the same loss the same way. Doing it in the other order risks small inconsistencies between the two documents, which is avoidable with a bit of planning.
Common mistakes
- Assuming either document alone is sufficient. For a lost passport, NIS's own list includes both.
- Getting the affidavit sworn before the police extract is requested. Details are easier to keep consistent in the other order.
- Assuming every "lost item" process wants both. Confirm the specific requirement for your situation.
For the wider picture on lost items and police documents, browse our police certificate articles, and see the police extract for a lost item for that side of the process in more detail.