Boko Haram: 235 Nigeriens, eight Filipinos deported

Lagos State Command of the Nigerian Immigration Service, (NIS), yesterday repatriated 235 Nigeriens amongst other nationals, arrested recently without valid visa. Also repatriated were eight Philipinos nabbed in a multi-national company without valid visa.

The repatriation is part of a clampdown on illegal immigrants across the nation. It could be recalled that ever since the arrest of a Chadian on the grounds of terrorism in Ijora area of Lagos, security agencies in the state had increased the clampdown on illegal immigrants.

While parading some of the illegal aliens, Lagos Command spokesperson, Muyiwa Odunubi said that NIS has for the past three months repatriated about 600 Nigeriens. " "We also have few Sierre-Leonan, Beninoise, and Togolese nationals. Most of them were raided by State Security Service (SSS), police and the task force at Alausa, Ikeja.

As soon as they were handed over to us, we conducted a proper screening and sorted out some of them who had valid visa but were arrested." On the arrest of the Philipinos, Muyiwa said that investigation revealed the suspects entered the country with a business visa and refused to leave the country at the expiration of the visa. "The recent clamp down is not restricted, it cuts across every immigrant without a valid visa. Every immigrant with a visa that is subject to regularization automatically gets it renewed."

Meanwhile, the General Secretary of the Nigerien community in Lagos, Alhaji Iliyasu Ismalia has said that all those who were repatriated are Nigeriens without a valid visa.

"We are currently sensitizing our people in Niger Republic on the need to have a valid visa. Nigerians are good people that you can barely spot the difference between an immigrant and a Nigerian."