103 Nigerians expelled from Turkey arrive Abuja

The federal government has received 103 Nigerians deported from Turkey over migration-related issues such as expired visas and irregular migration, among others.

Tijani Ahmed, the federal commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), stated this on Friday evening during the deportees’ profiling in Abuja.

Represented by Amb. Catherine Udida, the director of migration affairs in the commission, Mr Ahmed said the commission expected 110 deportees but received 103, all males.

“Some of them have been in the deportation camp for some months, and now that they are here, we are hoping to follow up on all the allegations gathered in their profiling.

“We will go through the profiling forms because some said their passports were seized.

“We are going to follow up with the Turkish authority because the passports are still the property of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he assured.

According to him, the NCFRMI is the mandate agency responsible for all returnees, irrespective of their status.

“We equally have a programme where we train them and thereafter reintegrate them into the society,” the federal commissioner stated.

Similarly, Bashir Garga, the North-Central zonal coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), assured the returnees of the government’s readiness to support them through the collaborative efforts of all relevant agencies.

One of the victims, Arinze Stone, said the Turkish authority arrested and detained him in the camp for about six months.

Mr Stone said he had been living in Turkey for quite some years doing business.

“They were arresting people whose papers are not yet out or just expired,” he said.

He alleged that it was since the European Union started paying Turkey for illegal immigrants that the government stopped issuing and renewing resident permits.

Mr Stone added that the deportation fee of about €2,500 that was supposed to be given to each victim was not paid.

Another victim, Moses Emeh, said he had a registered company in Turkey that had been functioning for over eight years. He added, “I also have a resident permit, which was forcibly cancelled, but I had planned to convert it into a working permit.

He narrated that he was arrested and put in a dungeon for 11 months and three weeks.

(NAN)