By CrossRiverWatch admin
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in Calabar on Thursday received 522 illegal migrants repatriated from Gabon to Nigeria. The CrossRiverWatch gathered that the illegal migrants were repatriated for not having valid travelling documents.
Speaking, Cross River Comptroller of NIS, Mrs Funke Adeuyi, said that the illegal migrants were repatriated from Gabon after they fail o show their valid travelling documents.
Adeuyi said that there were not criminals, adding that they were only repatriated because they failed to show the Gabon authorities their valid travelling documents while in Gabon.
“This year 2015, this is the second time we are receiving this batch of deportees from Gabon. Precisely, the first batch arrived Calabar on June 23 and they were 590 deportees. For today, we are profiling them and we have more migrants on board the vessel. Conservatively, the number of the migrant on this ship is 522. These migrants are from different nationals from the ECOWAS sub region’’, she said.
According to her, the next line of action was to ensure that the migrants are transported through Nigeria to the nearest land crossing to their countries of origin. “They are mainly from Mali, Togo, Senegal, Niger Republic, Guinea Conakry and other African countries. The NIS under the present leadership of our Comptroller General, Mr David Parradang , has trained men of the NIS in areas of promoting better migrant management in Nigeria. The management is sponsored by the European Development Union and implemented by the international organization for migration.
“Our officers are well trained, we have the medical team and SEMA on ground and we are collaborating with other security agencies to ensure that we give them humane treatment and food’’, she said.
She said that the migrants were not criminals and thus, deserves good treatment. Col. Moustapha Sarr, an attachee from the Senegal Embassy in Nigeria, who came to receive the deported Senegalese, said that over 8,000 Senegalese were residents in Gabon.
Sarr confirmed that the deported Senegalese entered Gabon without valid traveling documents. He applauded the NIS for receiving the migrants and expressed confidence in their relationship. One of the deportees, Mr. Asamoa Pansil, said that he entered Gabon in February this year without valid travelling document. “I am happy that I was deported from Gabon without any harm. I will now find my route back to my country Ghana’’, he said.
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