UK deports 41 Nigerians over immigration offences

Government of United Kingdom early yesterday morning deported 41 Nigerians over various immigration offences.

The deportees comprising 33 males and eight females were brought into Nigeria through the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, at 8am with a chartered aircraft.

Findings show that some of the offences of the deportees include expired and fake travel documents and illegal entry into the UK.

It was also gathered that some of them had sought for asylum status in the UK, which was not granted by the immigration authorities, and some before the deportation had spent between two and 24 years in the UK.

Efforts to speak with some of the deportees on record proved abortive as most of them wore sober look, while others were hostile. But one of them who simply identified himself as Charles confessed that he entered the UK with a visiting visa about two years ago, which had since expired.

Charles however regretted his deportation, saying it would now be difficult for him to enter the UK again, but bemoaned the bad economic situation in Nigeria.

He said: “I did not enter the UK with fake papers. I actually applied through the UK Embassy in Lagos and I was issued a six-month visa, but when my visa expired, I decided to stay back there because there is no job in Nigeria.

“I’ve actually spent two years in the UK before I was arrested by the security authorities at my workplace. I regret not leaving the country at the right time, especially when my visa was due. With this now, I won’t be able to return to that country. I just hope that our government can make Nigeria comfortable for its citizenry as a lot of us want to work and earn a living for ourselves.”

Some of the deportees were later seen loitering around the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) gate while others tried to make telephone contact to some of their family members to take them out of the airport.

A source closed to one of the agencies involved in the repatriation of illegal immigrants said most of the deportees were returned from the US for criminal offence.