One of the 103 Nigerians who have been deported from Turkey on Friday has revealed that their host country earns €120 day for every immigrant housed at the detention cell. The Federal Government had received no fewer than 103 Nigerians deported from Turkey over migration-related issues including expired visa, irregular migration, among others.
This was stated on Friday night by Alhaji Tijani Ahmed, the Federal Commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced People (NCFRMI).
Ahmed said that the commission had anticipated 110 deportees but had instead received 103, all of whom were men.
“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.
“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 authority. The passports are still the property of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the minister assured.
He stated that the NCFRMI, regardless of status, is the mandate agency in charge of all returnees.
“We equally have a programme where we train them and thereafter reintegrate them into the society,” he said.
In the same vein, the National Emergency Management Agency’s (NEMA) North-Central Zonal Coordinator, Mr. Bashir Garga, gave the returnees assurances that the government was prepared to assist them through coordinated efforts by all pertinent agencies.
Mr. Arinze Stone, one of the victims, said that he was imprisoned in the camp for around half a year after being arrested by Turkish officials.
Stone claimed to have lived and worked as a businessman in Turkey for a number of years.
They were arresting people whose paper are not yet out or just expired,” stone claimed.
He alleged that the government has ceased issuing and renewing residency cards since the European Union began paying Turkey for illegal immigration.
“Each day, the European Union pays 120 Euros per head of immigrants in the Immigration Camp.
“Ever since I had been in Turkey, I always had my resident permit renewed. It just got expired and Turkish authority collected 700Euros from me for tax and insurance and then cancelled the renewal.”
Stone went on to say that none of the victims received the approximately 2,500 Euro deportation fee that was supposed to be paid to them.
Mr. Moses Emeh, another victim, claimed to have a Turkish company that was officially established and had been in operation for more than eight years.
“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,” he narrated.
He further went on saying, “I was told that, If I did not sign the deportation documents, I will have to stay in their custody for one year to two years, after which I could be released and given immigration documents to sign, then be reintegrated into the system. But, they never fulfilled that.
“I also know that occupying a territory, without a permit is a crime, but mine was forcibly terminated twice, and I took the case to court.
Since my case was already in court and the court was yet to preside over my case, I don’t think it is right for them to deport me.”
To help them get to their destinations, the returnees received stipends, beginning packs, and dignity kits.
