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The Oyo state Command of the Nigeria Immigration Service has arrested 164 illegal immigrants in Ibadan in possession of National Identity Cards and Permanent Voters Cards.
Controller of the command, Innocent Akatu, disclosed that the illegal immigrants arrived in Nigeria from Niger Republic, Benin Republic, Togo and other West Africa countries and were residing in Nigeria without valid documents.
One of the ID cards, belonged to Musa Abdullahi Tanko, who claimed to have come from Kandan Village in Tangaza council area of Sokoto State. It was gathered that PVCs were issued to one Garba Muhammed, Ibrahim Idris and Magaji Muntaru who came from Tanko area in Sokoto State.
Akatu said: “In the past, we have invited leaders of ECOWAS communities in Nigeria to brief them on the forthcoming elections and why they should not participate in the electoral process or apply for the National Identity Card. We also told them that they should refrain from being used by the politicians in any capacity”
“Those who do not have valid travelling document are not supposed to be in Nigeria; they are to be flushed out and that is what we are doing now. We are fishing out the illegal immigrants and repatriating them back to their countries.
“Whatever we are doing is in line with ECOWAS protocol. We are also doing this because elections are fast approaching; we have to make sure that illegal settlers are forced out of Nigeria.
“From the present exercise, we have arrested 164 illegal settlers and recovered National Identity cards and Permanent Voter Cards from some of these arrested foreigners. We have seized all these and you will agree with me that the foreigners are being used”.