The United States government has announced plans to deport at least 201 Nigerian nationals.
According to U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria Richard Mills Jr., 85 of these individuals have already been cleared for immediate deportation.
The deportees, who will be taken to Lagos, include those serving jail terms in U.S. prisons for various crimes.
The development follows the enforcement of President Donald Trump’s immigration policy by the US government.
The government has carried out deportation of citizens of countries such as Colombia, Mexico and India, among others.
The envoy said: “Those to be repatriated would be dropped in Lagos.
“There wouldn’t be room for whether it should be in Port Harcourt or Abuja.
“The first group will be convicted prisoners – those who committed crimes and are in U.S. prisons.
“Some of them are those who have clearly violated U.S. immigration laws.
“They appealed but were denied yet they are still in the U.S. They have committed immigration crime.”
Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has appealed to the U.S. government to treat the deportees with dignity. She expressed concern over the use of handcuffs and leg irons on some of the deportees, many of whom are not violent offenders.
Mrs. Odumegwu-Ojukwu also urged the U.S. government to allow the deportees sufficient time to retrieve their assets and settle their affairs in the United States.
The minister expressed concern over the future of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
She said: “We can’t say whether it’s outright suspension. A lot of NGOs are worried and waiting for clarification.
“We will just make that appeal on behalf of the NGOs in Nigeria.
“Even less than a month into the 90-day review, there have been concerns.
“I know before the completion of the review, there’s already humanitarian issues in Nigeria and Africa.
“We will appeal that this initiative be preserved.
“Even if it’s abrogated as an agency, there must be a way of keeping the ideals to ensure that the poor beneficiaries in the communities, not just in Nigeria but Africa, are not abandoned.”
