Asaba— OVER 10,000 persons were arrested in Asaba and Warri axis of Delta State, following a mop up exercise of black spots and criminal hideouts by security agencies.
The exercise was carried out by men of the Delta State command of Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, in collaboration with other security agencies such as the Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services, DSS, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.
Our reporter who monitored the exercise reports that after the screening of those arrested, which took place at the command’s headquarters, Nigerians and regular immigrants were released while 268 persons declared as illegal immigrants were repatriated in six luxury buses to their respective countries.
The 268 undocumented/irregular immigrants of African extraction were repatriated to their countries of origin.
An unidentified official of the NIS was heard saying “even though Nigeria is a signatory to the ECOWAS protocol on free movement of persons, goods and services as well as residency rights, immigrants must enter the country with a valid travel document and through an authorised port of entry and not to sneak into Nigeria without any identification.”
Efforts to speak with the state Comptroller of Immigration Service, Mr. Isiaka Hamad, yesterday, proved abortive as he was said “to be very busy in a meeting sorting out the deportation arrangement.”
