Why 500 Nigerians were deported by United Kingdom government

About 500 Nigerians deported by the United Kingdom government Wednesday arrived at the Hajj and Cargo Terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos at 8:07am local time aboard a large chartered aircraft.
Vanguard was at the airport and observed that after all the necessary documentation, the deportees were taken to the main entrance of the Nacho gate where they were dispatched, while some of the deportees were received by their relatives at the same venue.
Vanguard further learnt that Landover Company acted as the handling company in charge of evacuating the deportees.
The nacho aviance coaster buses were used to convey the deportees in batches and one of the plates number of one of the buses reads: MUS342BP.
It will be recalled that Nigerians living in the United Kingdom on Monday 23rd of November 2015 cried out that the UK authorities were planning to deport 500 Nigerians due to immigration issues and other related offences and called on President Muhammadu Buhari to prevail on the UK government to stop the deportation.
On ground at the airport were the Immigration Officers, TARMAC Operations officers, The Nigeria Police Force, Airport Command, Air Force Defence officers and other security agents who provided adequate security during the documentation exercise of the deportees.
A relative of one of the deportees who refused to have his name mentioned said that he came to receive his aged brother’s son who was running his Masters Degree programme in the United Kingdom.
He said that he was surprised when he heard that his elder brother’s son was one of those deported by the UK government adding that he had come to the airport to pick him up.
Asked why the student was one of those deported by the UK government, he said “I don’t know, I have never gone to the UK before. This (Nigeria) is where I have lived all my life.
When contacted to speak on the deportation, one of the officials of the Nigerian Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) told our reporter that he had been redeployed out of the airport but stressed that he would help the reporter with a contact which he never gave out.
Efforts to speak to some of the deportees were frustrated by security officers as one of the Policemen accosted the reporter and threatened to detain him but was prevailed upon by his boss who ordered the reporter to leave the scene.
Over the years deportees arriving the country often come through the Hajj and Cargo Terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos and the implication is that they (deportees) are not regarded as regular passengers because of the necessary documentation that would be made about each of them for future purposes.


VANGUARD