By Louis Iba
Australia and the United Kingdom on Wednesday deported 40 Nigerians for the breach of various immigration offences.
Daily Sun learnt that the Nigerians who were sent parking from the two countries arrived the country via two chartered aircraft that touched down the Murtala Muhammed International Airport between 7.25am and 8am on Wednesday.
The chartered aircraft with the registration number ZTA -4741 brought into the country 36 Nigerians comprising 29 males and seven females, while Air Seychelles with the registration number SND-1 brought in four males.
“The deportees were forced out of their host countries for overstaying their visas and for the breach of other immigration offences,” said a source at the Lagos airport.
“But apart from the 40 Nigerians, there were also citizens from other Africa countries deported some of them from Ghana, Liberia and Egypt,” the source added.
Officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the Police and National Agency for Protection and Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) were at the airport to receive the deportees, and to actually ascertain that those allowed into the country were true Nigerian citizens.
“Some of the deportees were angry and violent when officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service attached to the international wing of the airport attempted to collect their fingerprints for data purpose,” said the source who didn’t want to be mentioned.
“But others who didn’t kick against the fingerprinting were swiftly attended to by the officers and were allowed to leave the airport after the completion of their documentations,” he added.
The Public Relations Officer of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Mr. Ekpedeme King who confirmed the deportation in a chat with aviation correspondents on phone however said he was constrained to speak more on the subject as he was yet to get the full details on why they affected Nigerians were deported.