A’Ibom govt to partner NIS to curb illegal immigration

Akpan Umoh, Uyo

The Akwa Ibom Government has pledged its readiness to collaborate with the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to stem the tide of illegal immigration and acts of unbridled human trafficking along its vast borders.

The Deputy Governor, Mr Moses Ekpo, said this when the newly posted Comptroller of Immigration Service (CIS) for the state, Mr George Didel, paid him a courtesy visit in Uyo.

Ekpo said that trafficking of innocent Akwa Ibom people out of the state for undignified labour and other criminal purposes was an issue of critical concern to the state government.

He praised the Immigration Service in the state for their proactive measures in ensuring that people with ill intentions do not take advantage of the hospitable nature of the state to perpetrate evil.

Ekpo said Akwa Ibom government was very concerned as the trafficking of its people does not give the state a good image.

“The governor has been very generous and very keen on anything that touches on the fabrics of the lives of the people.

“The issue of illegal migration of the people into servitude, does not give us a good image and does not help the young people who at the end of the day maybe victimized or killed,” Ekpo said.

The deputy governor warn indigenes of the state to avoid all forms of illegal migration but to take due advantage of the new ECOWAS travelling cards provided by the NIS for their cross-border trading.

He charged NIS to ensure they patrol all the waterways to check all forms of criminalities out of Akwa Ibom border areas.

Ekpo urged the immigration service to avail the people with adequate information to know that besides the International Passport, cross-border movement could still be done within community’s sub region with the use of the new ECOWAS travelling document.

Earlier, the Comptroller Immigration Service in the state, Didel said the aim of his visit was to solicit the support and assistance of the government to enable the state command of the service perform its duties effectively.

Didel said that with the state’s vast coastline, the Command was severely hampered in covering the state with just one patrol boat.

The CIS appealed to the state government to assist the service with additional boats and other logistics.

He said that there was a high level of migration and trafficking of people out the state within the coastline of the state.

He reminded the people that the ECOWAS travelling card was an innovation by the service to enable people to have valid entry into countries within the West African sub-region.