TheCable

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Lagos State Command, on Friday said that it arrested more than 200 suspected irregular immigrants in a week.

The comptroller of immigration in charge of the command, Mr Julius Ogbu, gave the figure while briefing journalists in Lagos.

He described as unfounded, the rumour that the arrest focused on northern Nigerians resident in the state.

NIS and other security agencies including the police had in separate operations last week made some arrests in a bid to prevent terrorists from attacking the state.

Ogbu said that the suspects would be screened at the NIS detention centre to ascertain their nationalities, check their travel documents and purposes of visit before deciding their fate.

The immigration chief said that the arrest was done randomly without knowing the actual identity of those involved.

According to him, about 110 suspected irregular immigrants had earlier been deported to their various countries mostly within the West Coast.

He said that the NIS notified embassies before embarking on the operation to enable them to inform their nationals who had not regularised to go back to their countries to do so.

Ogbu could not say whether any one of the suspect was arrested with a weapon.

PHOTO: David Parrdang, NIS comptroller-general