The
Eastern Naval Command of the Nigerian Navy said on Thursday, in Calabar, Cross
River State, that it had intercepted a transport vessel, `Av Agamba’ with no
fewer than 183 Nigerians and 41 illegal migrants. Rear
Admiral Atiku Abdulkadir, Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) of the
command, who made the disclosure while addressing journalists in Calabar, said
that the ship was intercepted at the shoreline on its arrival from Gabon. Abdulkadir
explained that the ship was, however, allowed to berth at the jetty because a
majority of the passengers were Nigerians. He
added that the Federal Government had placed a ban, restricting the dumping of
illegal immigrants in Nigerian ports.
The
flag commanding officer said that out of the 183 Nigerians, 93 were children,
adding that 83 of the children and majority of the adults had no travelling
passport, but came into the country with `emergency travel certificates.’ Abdulkadir said
that the Navy would confirm whether the children were brought into Nigeria
illegally, adding that there was the need to profile them and trace their
origin. “We
also have 41 foreigners on board this ship, out of which four are from the
Central African region while others are from West African.
“Over
35 of them again are with emergency travel certificates and no passport. We are
trying to work with the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to re-assure
ourselves that they are not of any dangerous character. “It is
a big concern to us that people are coming into this country without proper
travel documents. “Now
that there is Lassa Fever and other health challenges, we also want to ensure
that those that are here are of no health threat to the people around.”
Abdulkadir said that the police and the Department of
State Security at the jetty would check the Nigerians on the ship to ensure
that they pose no threat to the security of the nation. “We
will hand the foreigners over to the Nigeria immigration service for proper
check. Anyone found with illegal travel document would be sent back to Gabon. “We are
concerned about security; we want to ensure that the proper thing is done and
we cannot afford to allow illegal immigrants into this country.”
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