Following the influx of Tuaregs from the Republic of Benin and Chad into the Northern part of the country, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has placed its personnel on red alert.
The foreigners, most of them believed by NIS to be criminals, have caused tension in the Northern part of the country, especially in Kaduna State, the route through which the foreigners usually cross over to Nigeria.
An immigration officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said: “The number of the foreigners, especially from the Republic of Benin and Chad, has overwhelmed us. We have been placed on red alert, but how many are we to man our porous borders? We don’t even have the capacity to do much. We need assistance from other agencies, but our management is pretending that we are on top of the situation. We are not on top of anything. We don’t have choppers or helicopters for aerial patrol and no drones to supplement.
“How many is the number of NIS ? The illegal immigrants are trooping in our country daily. They are coming in droves. The problem is that they look like our people, Fulani. It is a very difficult and worrisome situation.
The Federal Government needs to step in urgently because most of these foreigners are members of terrorist groups, especially the new group that is in the country. Many of them are bandits and kidnappers. These people are responsible for killings and taking over our farm lands. They are the ones causing serious food scarcity in Nigeria.
I have played my part by speaking to you and raising the alarm about the influx of these foreigners who mean no good for the country. I say equivocally that NIS has no capacity to contain the influx. We need assistance from other security agencies because what will befall Nigeria is unimaginable, except something drastic is done.”
A memo by NIS, Kaduna State Command, signed by Assistant Comptroller of Immigration (HRM), for Comptroller of Immigration service, Muazu Aliyu, alerted to the influx of Tuareg (Arabs) into the country “from the Republic of Niger and Chad into some Northern parts of the country.”
“They came into the country under the cover of selling traditional herbal medicine and they speak fulfulde language. This development has the tendency of causing apprehension, particularly with the issue of banditry bedeviling the state. In view of the above, all officers /men, especially those at the local government level should intensify more efforts, properly identify, monitor and report any suspicious activities to the command.”
