Imported User:
The Nigeria Immigration Services (NIS) has repatriated 4,214 illegal immigrants from the country in the past three months, the Minister of Interior, Mr Abba Moro, has said.
Moro made the disclosure at the 2012 Ministerial Platform on Friday in Abuja.
The minister that 335 foreigners were deported while 16,998 were refused entry into the country within the period.
He said that Nigeria had entered into cooperation agreements on joint border patrol with countries it shared boundaries with, including Cameroun, Niger and Chad.
Moro said the country was also collaborating with ECOWAS on immigration and security issues.
The minister said that 2,538 documents were received from embassies and high commissions for examination and authentication by the Document and Fraud Unit of the Immigration Service.
He said that 3,247 Nigerians were refused departure for possession of doubtful travel documents, while 12,742 people had been placed on the watch list of the NIS.
Moro said that eight foreign missions benefited from the deployment of 44 immigration attaches, increasing the number from 10 in 2010 to 54 in 2012.
The minister said the e-passport intervention scheme had been carried out in 65 countries in line with the Federal Government’s policy of citizenship-centered diplomacy.
Moro said the internal security challenges facing the country were alien to the nation, stressing the need to build requisite capacities and capabilities to deal with the situation.
``It is in recognition of this that, in the last one year, the ministry embarked on intensive training of its personnel and the procurement of appropriate technologies to stern the tide,’’ he stated.
