28 August 2009

Lagos — United States has deported about 63 Nigerians for allegedly being in possession of illegal firearm and residing in the country without legal documents, according to the country's Immigration Service Department.

The Nigerian deportees were brought into the country by a Boeing 737 with registration number N739mi, which landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at about 11.15 am on Wednesday.

THISDAY learnt that the Nigerians were brought into the country from Miami, USA and they included Nigerians who had spent many years in the United States, and may not have visited Nigeria in the past 10 years.

Among the deportees were seven female and 56 male whose faces were grim, sad and wrinkled with rage and who kept mum during the exchange procedure with Nigeria Immigration Service.

Also reports confirmed that many of the Nigerians had spent many years in U.S. with the least spending only two years. About 80 per cent of the deportees were illegal immigrants who did not have valid documents.

One of them who refused to disclose his name said he was arrested while he was on his way to the market, but admitted that his documents that authorised him to live in U.S. had since expired.In addition, he also lost his job to the global economic meltdown about three months ago.

He also disclosed that he traveled to U.S. in 2004 when he could not secure a decent job in Nigeria.Many countries had become intolerant of illegal immigration due to the economic recession that is ravaging the world.

allafrica