The Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) command of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has intercepted two Indian nationals for illegally entering the country without proper documentation. The two male nationals were detected on Saturday during the screening of outbound passengers being evacuated to India from the airport.
It was learnt that the two nationals entered Nigeria through the land border. According to the Lagos Airport Comptroller of the NIS, Abdullahi Usman, the Indian nationals were in possession of visa on arrival application approval, which they failed to present to Immigration at the border.
Usman disclosed that the two Indians had been In Cotonou, Benin Republic for a month as they had the stamp of that country dated 9th February 2020 when they left. He stated that they entered Nigeria illegally as they did not present themselves for Immigration checks at the border.
The Comptroller said the two who are 32 and 29-year-old will be prosecuted according to Nigeria Immigration laws to serve as deterrence to others. Meanwhile, no fewer than 446 Indian nationals were evacuated from Nigeria on Saturday the 20th June 2020 as part of the ongoing evacuation of foreign nationals.
The evacuation brought the total number of Indian citizens evacuated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic to over 1,300. Air India and Nigeria’s major carrier, Air Peace has been carrying out the evacuation flights. The Comptroller General of NIS, Muhammad Babandede in a statement by DCI James Sunday, the NIS Public Relations Officer warned migrants to desist from breaking the Immigration laws of countries of transit or destination.