During a recent meeting with journalists, the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Ojo, announced that the illegal immigrants were deported for various immigration infractions.
The minister stated that the deportations were carried out by officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) over the course of the year.
Among those deported, 61 individuals found guilty of immigration violations were deported in August 2024 alone.
Nigeria’s border challenge
Nigeria has long faced challenges in securing its borders, leading to an influx of illegal migrants, including terrorists, from neighboring African countries.
This was confirmed last year when a retired Assistant Comptroller-General of Immigration, Sunday Fagbamigbe, raised concerns about Nigeria’s security vulnerabilities, revealing that the country has over 320 unmanned and illegal border routes.
Since the start of the year, the invasion of Nigerian communities by terrorists from neighboring Niger Republic has exacerbated humanitarian crises, especially in the Isa and Sabon-Birni areas of Sokoto State.
Despite the Federal Government’s multi-billion-naira border surveillance systems launched in 2019, illegal migration persists.
Reports indicate that illegal migrants, identified in some cases as bandits, terrorists, and kidnappers, continue to cross into Nigeria from neighboring countries such as Benin, Chad, Niger, Mali, and Cameroon.
A Punch investigation revealed that in Kwara State’s Baruten Local Government Area, residents report daily crossings of illegal migrants, underscoring the ongoing threat to national security.
Another investigation by HumAngle revealed that several terror groups have been infiltrating the forests surrounding Sokoto State, further exacerbating the already alarming criminal activities in the region.
These groups, taking advantage of porous borders and ungoverned spaces, have aggravated insecurity, contributing to an uptick in kidnappings, banditry, and other violent crimes in the axis.
“The forests sitting on the shore of the Niger Republic host up to seven terrorist camps, operating around the Bangi, Dankano, Galmi, Maradi, Masallata, and YarBasira areas of the country, according to local security sources.”
“Many of the terrorist leaders, who are mostly of the Fulani and Asbinawa extractions in the neighbouring country, have relocated to Sokoto forests with their criminal gangs.” the report noted.
Nigeria targets illegal migrants
Nigeria’s deportation of illegal immigrants has been an ongoing effort over the years, targeting individuals who entered the country unlawfully through land, air, and sea borders.
In 2015, the Jigawa State Commandant of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Isa Jere, revealed that his command had deported over 200 illegal Nigerien migrants within six months.
Similarly, during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, 36 Indian nationals and two individuals from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea were deported.
The Indian nationals were found to have entered Nigeria using fake visas and counterfeit immigration stamps, while the Korean nationals failed to regularize their stay after their contracts with the Zamfara State Government had expired.
