Just in: 103 Nigerians deported from Turkey

103 Nigerians who were deported from Turkey due to migration-related issues—including expired visas and irregular migration, among other things—have been received by the federal government.

This was said on Friday night at the deportees’ profiling in Abuja by Tijani Ahmed, the federal commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI).

The director of migratory affairs for the commission, Amb. Catherine Udida, represented Mr. Ahmed in stating that the commission had anticipated 110 deportees but had instead received 103, all of whom were men.

“Now that they are here, we hope to follow up on all the complaints obtained in their profiling. Some of them have been in the deportation camp for several months.

Some have stated that their passports were seized, so we will review the profiling forms.

“The passports belong to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, so we will pursue this with the Turkish authorities,” he promised.

He asserts that the NCFRMI, regardless of status, is the mandate agency in charge of all returnees.

The federal commissioner said, “We also have a program where we train them and then reintegrate them into the society.”

In a similar vein, the National Emergency Management Agency‘s (NEMA) North-Central Zone Coordinator, Bashir Garga, gave the returnees assurances that the government was prepared to assist them through the coordinated efforts of all pertinent agencies.

Arinze Stone, one of the victims, claimed that he was imprisoned in the camp for around half a year after being apprehended by Turkish officials.

Mr. Stone stated that he had been conducting business in Turkey for a number of years.

He said, “They were making arrests of people whose papers had just expired or weren’t yet out.”

He claimed that the government has ceased issuing and renewing residency cards since the European Union began paying Turkey for illegal immigration.

Mr. Stone went on to say that none of the victims received the approximately €2,500 deportation cost that was supposed to be paid.

Moses Emeh, another victim, claimed to have a Turkish company that was officially established and had been operating for more than eight years. “I had intended to convert my resident permit into a working permit, but it was forcibly cancelled,” he continued.

He described how he spent eleven months and three weeks in a dungeon after being imprisoned.

(NAN)