Over 19,000 illegal immigrants deported

Over 19,000 certified illegal immigrants, mostly from West and North African countries, have been deported from Nigeria since the beginning of the Boko Haram insurgency.

Yet, the Federal Government said on Thursday it was still battling to ascertain the exact number of illegal immigrants living in the country due to two principal factors.

Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, identified the two factors to include porosity of Nigerian borders and wrongful interpretation of the travel protocol implemented by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

He said past governments had taken for granted the issue of controlled border movements “because in the past, we did not have this kind of insecurity in the country.”

The minister spoke in

Abuja at a media parley.

As one of the measures to curb the illegal cross-border movements, he said the United States Government has offered to help in the provision of surveillance equipment that would monitor the identities of people involved and activities of the insurgents.

Moro said $2.6 million surveillance equipment has been proposed for acquisition by the Nigerian government and would be mounted at the border plazas to check illegal cross-border movements.

He said the Federal Government was doing everything possible to classify the illegal routes used by the immigrants and the building of legal border plazas.

He said “19,000 illegal immigrants have been sent out of the country by the appropriate authorities under the ministry. Although I must tell you that there is no accurate figure of illegal immigrants in our country due to the porosity of our borders and the wrongful interpretation of the ECOWAS Act.

“On the cost of implementation of the surveillance equipment at our borders, we are in the process of certifying one of those that can be awarded. It is within the region of $2.6 million and it was tendered by a Chinese firm.

“But that money may drastically reduce as the United States Government is also in touch with us in fighting terror and the U.S. government has offered to provide some surveillance equipment which we will deploy in the borders.

“These problems had been there before this administration. But we must take the responsibility as leaders to solve them.”

The minister also disclosed that in line with best global practices, visitors to Nigeria may soon start experiencing a new visa regime, because “we have decided to grant them visas at the point of entry.”

Henceforth, he said, those applying for new international passport would be required to apply 10 finger identification procedure instead of the traditional one which he said has been abused.

On prison congestion in Nigeria, the minister explained that if the National Assembly accepts the ministry’s request to amend certain sections of the Prison Act, the problem of congestion would be substantially reduced.

He disclosed that the prison service has so far been able to reform some of the inmates in spite of the huge challenges the authorities grapple with daily.

“The resurgence of insurgents has led to some jail breaks across the country.  But there are positives. As I speak with you now, about 50 inmates are attending the National Open University; 90 are writing WAEC and NECO exams; 690 inmates have been rehabilitated after serving their terms; 109 have been trained in vocational skills and 145 trade-tested in artisanship,” Moro added.

Meanwhile, facts emerged on Thursday that President Goodluck Jonathan refrained from sacking the Governors of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states where he declared a state of emergency on Tuesday because of the intervention of the leadership of the National Assembly.

Governors of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, Shetima Mustafa, Ali Geidam and Murtala Nyako, respectively, were spared the rod when the President proclaimed emergency rule in their states.

Deputy Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Media, Victor Ogene, also told newsmen in Abuja that the President had failed to meet the constitutional provision as spelt out in Section 305 (6) (b) which mandates him to inform the National Assembly in writing, within 48 hours, of the declaration of such state of emergency.

He said as at Thursday when the 48 hours mandate expired, the President was yet to notify either of the two arms of the National Assembly officially, of the declaration of emergency as stipulated by law.

However, Ogene disclosed that the President did not just make the state of emergency proclamation, he actually invited the leadership of both chambers of the National Assembly and briefed them on his plans.

According to Ogene, it was during the interaction that the President was prevailed upon to ensure that the democratic institutions in the states at all levels were kept intact while the military carries out its duty to guarantee safety of the citizens.

“We are aware that the President before the declaration did interface with the leadership of the National Assembly, and I can tell you that the input of the National Assembly led to the management of the situation such that we do not have a complete state of emergency that would have swept away democratic structures in the concerned states as we had in the past.

“As the bastion of democracy, the National Assembly is always desirous of maintaining and sustaining all democratic ethos which was why the leadership of the National Assembly did suggest that while we would support a return to normalcy using the mechanism of the state of emergency, it will not be right and it will send wrong messages if democratic structures such as the Governor and state Houses of Assembly were to go.

“So for us and going forward, we wish to say that more of these cooperation is needed if we are all conscious of the fact that government is one.

“While the legislature makes laws, the executive implements. And should a disagreement arise, the judiciary is always there to resolve such issues,” Ogene said.

He confirmed also that the President was yet to notify the House of the declaration of emergency in the three states as stipulated by law but refused to say anything on whether the House will express its disgust with the President over the constitutional breach.

But the Senate will next Tuesday consider the President’s emergency rule proclamation in the three states.

This is in line with Section 305 Sub-section 6 (b) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

Clerk of the Senate, Benedict Efeturu on Thursday issued a statement summoning all the Senators to Tuesday’s plenary which, he said, will consider “matters of urgent national importance.”

Daily Independent gathered that the statement from the Clerk was to enable the Senate in plenary have the constitutionally required two-thirds majority of members in attendance for the passage of the Presidential proclamation.

However, Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, and Deputy Whip, Hosea Ayoola Agboola, said on Thursday that the President’s proclamation did not breach any part of the Constitution and, to that extent, is in order.

Ndoma-Egba said “what the President has done is that he has declared his intention to declare state of emergency.

“That is what he has conveyed to Nigerians. He has conveyed his intention to declare a state of emergency. That state of emergency will be actually declared when an instrument proclaiming it is published in a gazette.

“Let us even assume that he has made a proclamation. There is another requirement of two-thirds majority, we did not have that today. So it is a process.

“He has just stated his intention. For now troops are being moved. If there is a threat to national security, the President is under obligation to deploy troops in response to that threat.

“For now, no provision of the Constitution has been breached and there is no constitutional crisis. So, the two-day deadline will start running after the publication of the instrument in a gazette.

“So until the gazette is published, time does not begin to run. And there is nowhere in the Constitution where the President is ordered to publish the gazette within a specific time.

“The Constitution did not say that the President must publish the gazette within 24 hours, 48 or 72 hours. So whenever the President publishes the gazette, then the two days or 10 days as applicable begin to run.

“For the purposes of the constitution, it is not a broadcast that proclaims a state of emergency. It is the instrument published in the gazette,” Ndoma-Egba added.

Similarly, Agboola, in a separate interview, said the decision of the President is in line with constitutional provisions.

He said he will throw his weight behind any action by the President that will bring a lasting peace and orderliness to the country.

“The emergency rule proclaimed by Mr. President to me is good and not the kind pronounced by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and that is the beauty of it because the democratic structures are still retained according to the Constitution.

“From the report we are getting from the concerned states, normalcy has started returning to the areas.”

He dismissed the insinuation that the proclamation may soon run into troubled waters because it lacked the backing of the National Assembly.

“I believe that between now and Monday we are going to receive the gazette and as soon as we receive it we will work on it,” he added.

In its own reaction, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) endorsed the state of emergency declared by the President in three states.

NLC President, Abdulwahed Omar, in a statement on Thursday in Abuja said the crisis was purely an internal security challenge, which if not initially mishandled requires more guile than brawn.

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) also said it will raise a team that will observe and monitor the prosecution of the military campaign under the new state of emergency in the affected states.

According to the group, the team will collect information and evidence from the field and determine if at all times, the military campaign was conforming with the published terms of engagement and other human rights conventions to which Nigeria is a signatory.

This was contained in a communiqué signed by ACF Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Fati Ibrahim, at the end of its National Executive Council meeting on Wednesday at its National Headquarters, Sokoto Road in Kaduna State.