- Nigeria Immigration Service
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in Gombe State has repatriated 32 Nigeriens, who were found not to have regular documents into Nigeria.
The Controller of NIS in the state, Alhaji Yusuf Aliyu, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gombe on Tuesday.
He said the repatriation of the aliens followed a directive by the Federal Government that all such “irregular” foreigners be sent back to their countries of origin.
He said he had met with Divisional Immigration Officers (DIOs) in the state and directed them to immediately compile and submit names and particulars of irregular foreigners in their divisions for them to be repatriated.
“When I came in there was an instruction late last year that we should ease out immigrants that are irregular.
“So we eased out about 32 illegal immigrants or irregular immigrants. All of those ones are Nigeriens.
“I just held a meeting with my DIOs from all the 11 local government areas and I directed them to immediately go and come up with the list of irregular migrants in their domains for immediate repatriation.”
Aliyu advised chairmen of the 11 Local Government Councils in the state to desist from issuing aliens certificates of indigeneship, which they use to obtain a Nigerian passport.
The immigration boss reminded the chairmen that it was a crime for anybody – whether an immigration official or council official – to aid any alien to obtain a Nigerian passport illegally.
“Yes, it is a crime to do that one; it is a big crime, just the same as it is a crime for Nigerian immigration personnel to give a non-Nigerian passport.
“One of the highest crimes of an immigration officer is to issue passport to a non-Nigerian.”
He, however, said if those that were repatriated reactivated their papers in line with the ECOWAS protocol, they would be accepted into the country.
Aliyu further said that the NIS was monitoring foreign personnel engaged in construction and other jobs to ensure that they were employed.
The controller called on the people of the state to ensure that they obtain the international passport and not wait until when they wanted to travel out of the country.
