No fewer than 510 irregular migrants discovered in Akwa Ibom State by the Nigerian Immigration Service would be repatriated to their countries.
Francisca Dakat, NIS Comptroller, disclosed this after two days mop-up in three Local Government Areas of the state.
She disclosed on Thursday in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, that the exercise was conducted in Eket, Ibeno and Etinan local government areas.
Dakat explained that the exercise was part of the service’s mandate aimed at ensuring that only Nigerians participate in the country’s 2023 general elections process.
According to her, those to be repatriated are 255 Ghanaians, 213 Cameroonians and 42 Nigeriens.
She said: “The Nigeria Immigration Service in continuation of her mop-up exercise has embarked on another raid, with a view to cover the 31 Local Government Areas in the state.
“The mop-up exercise took place in Ibeno, Eket and Etinan Local Government Areas between January 30 and February 1.
“It had a total number of 612 suspected irregular migrants who were apprehended at different communities of these Local Government Areas.
“The exercise featured profiling; 510 were confirmed to be Non Nationals of African descents; 213 Cameroonians, 255 Ghanaians and 42 Nigeriens.”
The Comptroller added that the exercise would be a continuous one to cover the 31 LGAs in line with the directive of the Comptroller General of the Service, Isah Idris.
Dakat explained that the Comptroller General had directed that Comptrollers should intensify efforts to combat the recurring trend of irregular migration.
She said that during the raid, some of the irregular migrants apprehended were found with Permanent Voter Cards, which were seized accordingly.
She called on residents of the state not to harbour irregular migrants, adding that the NIS should be informed about such Non-Nigerians in their domain.
“The Command will take decisive action against anyone who violates Immigration extant laws,” she said.
Dakat lauded the support of the CG, Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State and other security agencies in the execution of the mop-up in the state.
