No fewer than 17 Nigerians have been arrested by the immigration services while attempting to cross the border into Niger, on their way to Libya, with no valid papers.
The comptroller of immigration for Katsina state, Ahmed Alhaji Alfa, who made this disclosure to AFP on Tuesday, said his men intercepted the 17 Nigerians in two batches, at a border crossing with Niger.
“Our investigation revealed that their mission was to cross border en route to Agadez in Niger Republic and then to Libya.
“We believe their final destination was Europe through the dangerous voyage across the (Mediterranean) sea,” he added.
The victims- 10 women and seven men, aged between 18 and 40- were apprehended on February 14 and 21, Alfa said.
“Only one of them was in possession of travel documents, while the others had no travel document nor any means of livelihood,” he added.
He said those detained were from the southern Nigerian states of Edo and Imo and had likely been “misled” by a trafficking syndicate operating in the northern Nigerian commercial hub of Kano and towns, along the borders of Nigeria and Niger.
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