From: Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
No fewer than 10,000 illegal immigrants were apprehended in Oyo State between January and December 2016 by men and officers of the Nigeria Immigrations Service(NIS), Zone F, Ibadan.
The disclosure was made at a press conference addressed by the Assistant Comptroller General of NIS in the zone, Olaseni Lawal, on Wednesday.
The zone comprises commands of NIS in Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti states.
Lawal stated that thousands of illegal immigrants into the zone have also been apprehended by men anx officers of NIS with fake or invalid documents, and have been sent back to their countries in accordance with the law.
“By and large, we are not only deporting illegal immigrants, the NIS has registered thousands of foreigners that came from some West African countries and have shown interests to stay in the zone.
“In Oyo State, more than 10,000 irregular immigrants were recorded between January and December. Those who had bad cases were asked to leave the country. They were from neighbouring West African countries and what was achieved in Oyo State is being replicated in other states within the Zone F of NIS.”
Deputy Controller in charge of ECOWAS and African Affairs, Aderemi Salau, in a breakdown, said Oyo State recorded the highest figure of illigal immigrants among the four states in the zone.
Lawal stated that various commands under the zone have rescued hundreds of children from human traffickers in the recent time, adding that many of the rescued children have been reunited with their parents. He noted that the children were victims of child trafficking by people from within the country and foreigners alike. The children, he said, were rescued during various operations at different locations within the zone by officers and men of the zone.
“The cases that required further investigation and probably prosecution have been transferred to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other related Matters (NAPTIP),” Lawal said.
The Deputy Controller in charge of Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Labour in the zone, Kola Sofuwa, reported that a 13-year-old boy from Benue State was rescued from child labour and was on Monday reunited with his mother, saying: “Based on intelligence gathering, the boy, Daniel Peter, was rescued from child labour and kept in the zone’s custody.
“We were able to get in touch with the mother who confessed that because she needed money to feed the family, she struck an agreement with someone who trafficked the boy to the South-West to work, despite being just 13 years old. She said she had six children and that her husband just died, leaving her with a huge family burden.”
But Lawal also assured Nigerians that want to procure International Passports and those already in the process that the hiccups in the process will be over soon. Besides, he vowed that he would put a stop to the menace of touting at all commands under his zone, which comprises Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti States.
The Federal Ministry of Interior, and Comptroller-General of NIS, Muhammad Babandede, according to him, have been working assiduously to fix the challenges associated with procurement of passports.
“We are aware of the shortages and the hardship Nigerians are facing. The Ministry and Comptroller-General are sorting it out. They are working to ameliorate the situation. We are having challenges quite alright, but we are looking at it. I want to assure Nigerians that all of the problems they encounter in procuring passports, in a very short while, will be over.
“I want to implore the prospective applicants for International Passport not to patronise touts. We have also created VIP waiting sections to accommodate dignitaries, senior citizens and thd elderly, who may want to seek the services of the commands under the zone,” he said.