Nigeria repatriates 18 Cameroonian irregular immigrants from Benue

The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Benue Command, on Monday, sent back home 18 Cameroonian irregular immigrants residing in Makurdi.

The State Comptroller, Mr Jerry Omezi, disclosed this while addressing journalists in Makurdi.

Omezi said the Command got an intelligence report that a residence in Makurdi, precisely No. 22, Jonah Jang Crescent, Nyiman, was housing irregular immigrants.

“The place was identified, our officers were detailed to carry out surveillance there and they identified 18 Cameroonians, who had no travel documents.

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“On questioning them, it was discovered that they are here operating a foreign-based online marketing company known as Qnet.

“Further investigation revealed that the business was in health care products, jewellery and cosmetics.

“The Head of the online marketing business, Anyi Emmanuel Aberafo, who also had no travel documents, said they invested about 600.000 CFA, an equivalent of N900,000, in the business,” Omezi explained.

He said the arrested persons were economic immigrants, who had no valid travel documents, hence NIS would not let them stay in Nigeria.

The Comptroller advised them to go back and follow the due process of migration while assuring them of a decent manner of taking them back to their country.

Omezi further added that vehicles were already on the ground to take them to the border, to be handed over to the Border Comptroller for repatriation.

He, however, said that a lady among the group had applied for refugee status because of the crisis in Cameroon which the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is processing. (NAN)