24 illegal immigrants have been arrested by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) Sokoto Command, at Tamaje village in Sabon –Birni local government area of Sokoto state.
Parading the suspects, Friday, before newsmen in Sokoto, the Comptroller of Immigration, Sokoto State Command, Mr. Yunusa Aliyu said they entered Nigeria from Niger republic without valid travel documents.
He disclosed that the suspects were arrested on Thursday, while travelling to Warri, Port Harcourt and Onitsha in Delta State, Rivers State, and Anambra State respectively.
According to Aliyu, all the 24 suspects were males of varying ages and were from various parts of the neighbouring Niger republic.
“The existing international protocol does not prohibit the citizens of other countries from entering other countries, but it must be done with valid travel documents”, he said.
The comptroller stated that the suspects would be repatriated to Niger republic.
Aliyu, who noted that 43 other suspects had escaped from the four buses they were travelling when they were intercepted by immigration officers, explained that four other citizens of Niger republic who had valid travel documents and were arrested together with the 24 suspects had been released.
He maintained that the drivers of the four buses which had been impounded by the service would also be prosecuted for aiding and abetting illegal immigration, as they are all Nigerians.
The Comptroller however, decried the porosity of Nigerian borders, assuring that the officers and men of the Service would continue to be diligent in the discharge of their duties.
