UK, Australia Deport 40 Nigerians Over Immigration Offences

Some of the deportees

The United Kingdom and Australia on Wednesday jointly deported 40 Nigerians alleged to have committed various offences in both countries.

The deportees comprising 33 males and seven females arrived at the Hajj Camp area of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport at 7:25 a.m. with two chartered aircraft.

Thirty-six of the deportees were flown into the country in a chartered aircraft with registration number ZTA -4741, News Agency of Nigeria reported.

The other four were repatriated through an Air Seychelles aircraft with registration number SND-1.

A reliable source at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) told NAN that apart from the Nigerians, some unspecified Africans from Ghana, Liberia and Egypt, were also deported.

The source said they were deported from their host countries for overstaying their visas and other immigration offences.

According to the source, they were received by various agencies such as the Police, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and the National Agency for Protection and Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).

NAN, however, gathered that some of the deportees refused to allow the immigration officers to capture their biometrics for record purposes and forced their way out of the airport.

The Public Relations Officer, NIS, Mr Ekpedeme King, confirmed the development to aviation correspondents on phone, but could not provide further details.

It would be recalled that 50 Nigerians were deported from the United Kingdom on Nov. 25, 2015 for similar reasons.

The deportees, made of 44 males and six females, were flown into the country at about 6.30 a.m. in a chattered B767 belonging to PITAN Airways, with registration number ETA.