Barely one month after about 40 Nigerians were deported, another set of 40 Nigerians have again been deported from the UK and Spain.
The Head of Immigration at the Nigerian High Commission in London, MrLawal Isah, who disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the deportees who will arrive in Nigeria today, consist of 40 persons from the UK, with an uncertain number from Spain.
He said that among those repatriated were people who had served jail terms in various prisons across the UK, and others arrested for illegal stay.
Isah disclosed that the repatriation was a monthly exercise through a chartered return flight jointly organized by the High Commission and the UK Government.
Speaking on the development, the Minister of Interior Mr. Abba Moro, said the Immigration service in Nigeria has over the years been able to stop those without proper documentation from travelling out of the country.
He said: “In 2012, 1,687 Nigerians without proper documentation were prevented from traveling out of the country. However, some succeeded in escaping.”
The minister who is on a facility monitoring visit in London revealed that Nigeria had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Austria, Slovakia and Germany to facilitate the return of those without legal rights to stay in those countries.
“The essence of the MOU is to add some level of dignity to the way returnees are sent home so that they are not forced into detention.
“These countries have further earmarked some funds for resettlement of repatriated Nigerians” Moro said.