The Nigeria Immigrations Service is set
to deport six Britons who were arrested last Saturday for alleged breach
of the country’s immigration law.
The Comptroller-General of the NIS, Mr.
Martins Kure-Abeshi, made the disclosure in Abuja when he met with
members of the House of Representatives Committee on Interior at the
National Assembly.
According to him, violations of the
Immigration Act, 2015, carried penalties including a term of
imprisonment of 10 years or an option of N2m fine.
Kure-Adeshi spoke as he defended
the 2016 budget estimates of the service before the committee, which is
headed by Mr. Adams Jagaba.
A member of the committee, Mr. Sunday Katung, had asked a question on the fate of the Britons.
The CG replied, “I just arrived from abroad yesterday (Monday) and met this case.
“As I am talking, yesterday in the
evening, the company that employed those expatriates, after my
discussion with them, they are to be responsible for their air tickets.
“As I am talking now, I am sure they have been flown out.”
Giving more details, Kure-Adeshi stated,
“One company employed them. They were in the services of that company,
but they travelled out, when they were coming back, another employer
gave them visa to come, which is against immigration law.
“It is against the law of the land. So
their first employer complained about these expatriates, so it is an
offence they have committed and we have ordered their deportation.
“When we conduct our operation and
discover that someone who is not a Nigerian is living in this country
illegally, he will be repatriated. That is on our own part, they have to
go.
“There is another another angle to it.
If he is a worker, working in a company and we discover that he does not
have papers to stay in this country, he has committed an offence
against the state, the company that the expatriate is working will give
us money, buy ticket or whatever is their responsibility.
“Before anybody takes an appointment
here as an expatriate, the organisation will write to immigration that
they are taking immigration responsibility for that expatriate.
“If that expatriate commits any offence
against the company and they want to remove him, that company must
provide ticket so that the person is removed from this country.”
The expatriates were working for GMT Energy Resources, contractors to EXXONMOBIL.
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