Minister of Interior, Abba Moro has revealed that the Federal Government has deported more than 22,000 illegal immigrants since the start of its war against acts of terrorism spearheaded by members of the Boko Haram Islamist sect.
According to Moro, who was speaking in Kano late Thursday, the bulk of the deported illegal immigrants are citizens of neighbouring Chad, Cameroon and Niger Republic who were in possession of improper documentation.
“Nigeria is engaging in the crackdown because illegal immigrants have become ready tools in the hands of insurgents,” Moro clarified.
“So far, as at today, more than 22,000 of such illegal immigrants have been eased out of the country. They are not just from one country. Most of them are Cameroonians, Chadians and Nigeriens.”
Nigeria’s Boko Haram sect has been at the forefront of a serial war against the state, orchestrating repeated gun and bomb attacks mostly targeted at government officials, security agents and adherents of the Christian faith. However, the sect is believed to be receiving financial and logistic support from a number of countries, particularly those along Nigeria’s usually-porous borders and those with high Islamic population.
