800 ‘undocumented’ Nigerians arrested in S/Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has arrested about 800 undocumented Nigerians who are currently trapped in the Arab country.

This followed a series of crackdown by the Saudi Arabian authorities targeting irregular migrants in the country.

The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) which confirmed this at the weekend also advocated proper information and legitimate documents by Nigerians travelling to the kingdom.

Mr Gabriel Odu of the Media, Public Relations and Protocol unit of NIDCOM, in an advisory on behalf of the commission, urged Nigerians travelling to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia without proper documentation not to do so as Saudi authorities have heightened a clamp down on irregular migrants.

• Cash crisis: Buhari urges patience, reaffirms support for Tinubu
• Echoes from national confab on livestock reforms, farmer/herder clashes

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has about 800 Nigerians arrested and detained for various offences particularly Consular issues since the clamp down began in October, 2022,” the statement added.

While the Nigerian Embassy in Saudi is said to be intervening in the matter, NIDCOM urged Nigerians “to resist breaking the laws of other countries.”

The commission also appealed to Nigerian citizens “that if they must travel, they should travel with proper information about the host country and most importantly, legitimate documents.”