NAN – The Seme Command of the Nigeria Immigration Service said it deported 893 irregular immigrants between January and December 2013.
The command’s spokesman, Mr Niyi Oyewole, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Badagry on Monday that 72 Nigerians were also expelled from other countries.
He said that 81,303 people arrived in the country through the border with valid passports and complete documents.
“From Jan. to Dec. 2013, 81,303 people arrived in Nigeria through the border with their passports: 52,502 of them were males, while 28,801 were females.’’
He, however, said that 88,856 people, including 59,552 males and 24,304 females, left Nigeria through the Seme border within the period.
Oyewole explained further that 896 foreigners were refused entry through the border during the period. “They were mainly from Mali, Benin Republic, Gabon and Congo.’’
He added that 3,424 Nigerians were refused departure from Nigeria to other West African countries due to irregularities in their visas.
He also said the command received 95 rescued victims of human trafficking from outside the country, which it handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).
“Fifty suspected human traffickers were arrested at Seme border by immigration officers and were handed over to NAPTIP for prosecution’’, he said.
