The Nigeria Immigration Service says it is set to repatriate at least 22 irregular Cameroonian migrants.
The migrants were apprehended during a night raid operation on Wednesday, August 14, 2024, the Service’s FCT Command revealed to Saturday PUNCH.
Wednesday night’s “operation was part of ongoing efforts by the Nigeria Immigration Service FCT Command to maintain border security and ensure the integrity of Nigeria’s Immigration laws as mandated by the Comptroller-General of Immigration, Kemi Nandap,” the service said in a statement signed on Friday and availed to our correspondent by the Command Public Relations Officer, Mr. Anyanwu Paul.
The statement is titled, ‘FCT Command Nigeria Immigration Service, apprehends 22 irregular Cameroonian migrants on Wednesday, August 14, 2024.’
Paul said the arrested persons will undergo due process in accordance with Nigeria’s Immigration laws, and appropriate actions will be taken to address their immigration status.
He gave further details of these actions in a phone interview with our correspondent on Friday, saying those arrested have been profiled and will be ‘eased out’ of the country soon.
“The state of things now is that the suspects have been moved to the service headquarters for further necessary action. We have finished profiling them. They are at our headquarters now.
“They will be taken back or, as we call it, ‘eased out’ to their country through the nearest border—that is, through the borders they came in through.
“So, that is the final solution. That is what we are working on at the moment. This is a normal procedure,” said the spokesman.
Paul added that after the raid on Wednesday, NIS operatives found them without the proper documentation.
“The law recognizes them as irregular migrants because they don’t have passports. They don’t have entry permits. They don’t have a residence permit.
“When you don’t have papers to stay in a country, they will send you back to your home country” he explained.
Commenting on the operation, the Comptroller of Immigration Service, FCT Command, BAS Pepple, reiterated the NIS’ firm stance against irregular migration.
She emphasised that there is no tolerance for individuals who attempt to enter the country through unauthorised means.
Pepple stated, “There is no space for irregular migrants in the FCT. We will continue to enforce the law and take necessary steps to maintain the security and sovereignty of our borders.”
She said the NIS would continue to safeguard Nigeria’s borders, promote legal migration and combat irregular migration activities.
Credit: PUNCH