Nigeria Immigration Service Arrests 51 Irregular Migrants from Mali

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has arrested 51 irregular Malian immigrants in the suburb of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

The undocumented migrants were arrested at the New Nyanya, Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, which shares border with the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Mali is one of the three Sahelian states that recently exited the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the window of travel without visa for specified period of time for the citizens of the regional bloc are no longer applicable to Malians in Nigeria and other 11 member states of the economic bloc.

The other two countries which exited ECOWAS are Niger Republic and Burkina Faso.

The irregular Malian migrants are aged between 17 and 25 and were arrested at their hideouts, following a credible intelligence, according to NIS source.

Speaking on the arrest, the Nigeria Immigration Service Public Relations Officer, Akinsola Akinlabi, said 11 of the irregular migrants are females, while 40 others were males.

He noted that preliminary investigation conducted by the NIS showed that the migrants may have been victims of Trafficking in Person (TIP) and Smuggling of Migrants (SOM), adding that none of them presented any valid travel document or residence permit during interrogation.

Akinlabi said they have been taken into the custody of the Service and are undergoing further profiling and investigation.