The Federal Government has welcomed 103 Nigerian nationals deported from Turkey due to migration-related issues such as expired visas and irregular migration, News About Nigeria reports.
This was announced by Alhaji Tijani Ahmed, the Federal Commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), during a profiling session for the deportees in Abuja on Friday evening.
Represented by Amb. Catherine Udida, the Director of Migration Affairs, Ahmed revealed that although 110 deportees were expected, only 103 arrived, all of whom were male.
“Some of them have been in the deportation camp for some months, and now that they are here, we are hoping to follow up on all the allegations gathered in their profiling,” Ahmed said.
He added, “We will go through the profiling forms because some of them have said that their passports were seized. We are going to follow up with the Turkish authorities, because the passports are still the property of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The NCFRMI is mandated to support all returnees, including through training programs aimed at reintegration into society.
Similarly, Bashir Garga, North-Central Zonal Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), pledged government support for the returnees in collaboration with relevant agencies.
One deportee, Arinze Stone, recounted his experience, stating that he was detained in a Turkish camp for six months.
Stone, who had lived in Turkey for several years conducting business, claimed that Turkish authorities began arresting individuals with expired or pending documentation after the European Union started compensating Turkey for managing illegal immigrants.
“Each day, the European Union pays 120 Euros per head of immigrants in the Immigration Camp,” Stone said.
He added that despite always renewing his resident permit, his renewal was cancelled after Turkish authorities collected 700 Euros from him for tax and insurance.
Another deportee, Moses Emeh, who had operated a registered company in Turkey for over eight years, shared that his resident permit was forcibly cancelled as he was converting it into a work permit.
Emeh expressed hope that the Nigerian foreign affairs ministry would address these diplomatic issues and called for sensitisation programmes for Nigerians in Turkey, citing a lack of transparency from Turkish authorities.
“I don’t know where to start from. But I believe this is a diplomatic issue and I trust our foreign affairs minister to follow it up. I also think that they should have a sensitisation programme for Nigerians still living over there in Turkey because the Turkish government is not being sincere and transparent with us,” Emeh stated.
This incident is not isolated, as concerns have previously been raised regarding Turkey’s treatment of Nigerian citizens.
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is reportedly preparing to impose regulatory sanctions on Turkish Airlines due to the alleged mistreatment of Nigerian passengers.
Michael Achimugu, Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at NCAA, stated that President Bola Tinubu has directed the NCAA, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), and other relevant agencies to ensure the protection of Nigerian passengers’ rights.
Approximately 300 passengers, many of whom were Nigerians from Italy, were recently stranded at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos due to Turkish Airlines being picketed by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC).
These passengers, primarily from Edo State, relied on Turkish Airlines due to the lack of direct flights from Italy to Nigeria, and their flights were cancelled without timely notification.
