NIS Repatriate’s 50 Illegal Immigrants – Official

Mr Joachim Olumba, the Public Relations Officer of Nigeria Immigration Service, says the organisation has repatriated more than 50 illegal immigrants in the last one week.

Olumba,who said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja, however, declined to name their countries of origin.

He said that the exercise, which was ongoing, was carried out to reduce the security threats posed by the illegal immigrants.

Olumba said poor funding and lack of adequate logistics had continued to hinder the operations of the service especially at the borders.

He said only 10,000 out of the more than 50,000 officers needed at the borders were currently posted to border towns in the country.

According to him, the difficult terrain caused by mountains and deserts in some parts of the country has made it difficult to patrol the borders.

The spokesman said that the organisation was in need of patrol vehicles, helicopters, horses, camels and motorcycles for adequate patrol of the borders.

On revenue generated by the service, Olumba said the production of international passports was being done through a Public-Private Partnership, leaving the service with little revenue.?