FG DEPORTS 19,000 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM NIGERIA

By Amebo

Friday, 17 May 2013

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Minister for Interior, Mr. Abba Moro has disclosed that the Federal Government few months ago deported over 19,000 illegal immigrants.

He said the illegal persons came into the country through porous border inlets and to fight the terrorism in the country, it became compelling to throw them out. Moro informed that the deportation was part of the measures adopted by the government to check the incursion of strangers into the nation and to further contain the security threat posed by Boko Haram.

He also admitted that nobody in the country, including his office had accurate data on the exact number of illegal immigrants in the country.

The minister said the impossibility of such data was due to the vast uncharted number of routes into the country at the borders, coupled with the wrong interpretation of ECOWAS Acts. However, if the nation was to tighten the borders effectively, it would take a bill of about N500 million or $2.6 million to provide the manpower and gadgets needed.

“Manning our international borders effectively to check illegal entry of persons is almost an impossibility in the nation today. We have to admit the fact that we don’t have enough manpower and equipment to have real control of the situation.

And I admit to you that prior to the present situation we face, it used to be worse. We used to take so many things for granted until we came to the point of this daring and dire security challenge. Most things in the past were taken for granted about entry into the nation.

But since the present administration had serious security challenges to grapple with, there is no alternative to having a firmer grip on our borders and check the porosity. “Part of the measures to succeed in the task had led us to getting into partnership with the USA government to procure advanced surveillance equipment for better result.” Moro revealed these at the 27th Leadership Forum of the Nigerian Newsworld Magazine interactive with the media in Abuja.

He said: “The 19,000 illegal immigrants were sent out of the country by the appropriate authorities under the ministry. “On the cost of implementating of the surveillance equipment at the borders, we are in the process of certifying one of those that can be awarded.

It is within the region of $2.6m but if the US government keeps its words on assisting us on manpower and equipment, that means the financial cost won’t be as much as what was projected.”

On the danger posed by prison congestion in the country, the minister explained that if the National Assembly accepts the ministry’s request to change some sections of the Prison Act, the problem of congestion should reduce substantially.

He also said the prison service had been able to reform some of the inmates in spite of the huge challenges the authorities had to grapple with daily. “The resurgence of insurgents has led to some jail breaks across the country. But there are positives.

Presently, about 50 inmates are attending the National Open University; 90 are writing WAEC and NECO; 690 rehabilitated after serving their terms; 109 trained in vocational skills and 145 trade-tested in artisanship