Over 400 irregular immigrants have been arrested in Edo State by men of the state command of the Nigerian Immigration Service.
The illegal immigrants who are nationals of Chad, Mali and Niger republic were screened at the Edo state command headquarters of the Nigerian immigration service in Benin City.
Speaking to journalists during the screening exercise, the Edo State comptroller of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Mr David Adi, said the operation is a mop-up exercise aimed at “nipping in the bud” any possible security threats to the state and the country at large.
Mr Adi said, “We just have to do our work; these people are known as irregular immigrants, irregular in the sense that they don’t have travel documents. They also do not have visible means of livelihood. So, if we don’t ease them out they will constitute serious security threats.”
According to him, the service is doing everything possible to improve the policing of the nation’s land borders.
“We are doing our best within the available resources, although our borders are very expansive,” he said.
One of the illegal immigrants, Buhari Ahmedu, who claimed to be a Nigerien, said he is in Edo State providing tailoring services.
“I am a tailor; I go about with my sewing machine, mending clothes for people. That’s what I do in Benin City,” he said.
With the country trying to recover from the onslaught by insurgents, adopting this proactive approach towards securing the country is believed to be cheaper and safer.
