300 Illegal Immigrants Arrested

Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Edo State Command, in collaboration with the state government, rounded up over 300 suspected illegal immigrants on Wednesday.

Speaking on the efforts of the command to rid Edo of illegal persons who find their way into country, Controller of Immigration in the state, David Akwo , said that 120 of those arrested would be deported, while Malians among them would be handed over to authorities of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, in line with UN resolution.

Parading the illegal immigrants at the Ikpoba Hill premises of the command, Akwo cautioned citizens of West African countries not to misconstrue the ECOWAS Protocol on movement of citizens of member states across the region.

 “When we talk of ECOWAS Protocol, what people don’t understand is that there has to be valid documents to be able to move freely in the ECOWAS countries and entry must be through designated entry points. Some of them are Nigeriens, Ghanaians and Guineans while others are Chadians and Malians. Of course, you know the security situation in the country; a lot of them have been arrested as a fall-out of the Boko Haram insurgency.

“For Malians, you know what is happening in that country; the UNHCR has written to members states not to send them back to their country because of the situation there now, but we will send them to the refugee camp under UNHCR.”

The Controller cautioned Nigerians on the type of persons they employ as security guards, and said that care should be taken, in order that such employees did not constitute security risks.


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