Immigration Service Should Be Empowered Track Movement Of Nigerians Abroad – Malami SAN

The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami,
SAN, has stressed the need to strengthen the country’s immigration
service to address illegal cross-border movement.

Mr Malami disclosed this on Friday in Abuja when the Coalition
of Integrity Political Parties, CIPP, visited his office to
congratulate him on his reappointment as minister.

While speaking on the xenophobic attacks in South Africa, he
said that the immigration services should be overhauled to profile
people travelling out of Nigeria and checkmate illegal
immigration.

The minister described the situation in South Africa as
unfortunate, saying that it bordered on foreign policies and
immigration issues in the African continent, since other nationals,
aside Nigerians, were also affected.

He said that strengthening the immigration services would help
to account for Nigerians in foreign countries, including South
Africa.

Mr Malami described the habit of going through the Mediterranean
Sea and deserts by some people, in their bid to travel out of the
country, as illegal and unfortunate.

The AGF urged the youth to quit crossing the Mediterranean Sea
and Sahara deserts in the quest to seek greener pasture.

“This is very important because by now, we should have been able
to know who and who are in South Africa to defend the helpless and
hapless Nigerians.

“There is no greener pasture anywhere than our country. With
farmlands everywhere, we must work harder rather than look for
cheap means to migrate from the country where nobody drives us.

“This is one of the problems I see when our people travel abroad
illegally, which is now posing challenge; if they were to be here,
we would have been able to account for their whereabouts.

“It is sad to know that some of them ran out illegally through
the Mediterranean Sea to Libya and other countries, which is posing
big problem,’’ he said

Malami noted that an overhaul of the nation’s immigration
services would help to promote documentation of travellers through
the country’s airports and land borders.

On Nigeria’s withdrawal from the World Economic Forum, he said
that the Federal Government’s position might not have been based on
the South African situation, but on resolving the security
situation amicably.

“Some of our citizens are in South Africa and we did not know;
now that they have challenges, we need to look at our foreign
policy to see how we can best handle it.

“Not that Nigeria is boycotting the forum because there is a
situation in South Africa. I do not think so,” he said.

Earlier, Dr Yakubu Shendam, the National Spokesperson of CIIP
and Chairman of New Generation Party, said that they were at the
ministry to congratulate the minister and support the fight against
corruption.

Shendam described the fight against corruption as one of the key
agenda of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration as well
as the mandate of the Federal Ministry of Justice.

“We believe that the reappointment of Malami as the AGF and
Minister of Justice will fast track the criminal justice system in
the country.

“Nigeria cannot continue suffering like this because of looting;
people celebrate criminals because of free money but this
government is coming to sanitise the system.

“It is our belief and hope that we have credible government and
have politicians who aspire to win elections with the cardinal
goals of entrenching good governance.

“If the president is already doing that, why will we, as
political party leaders across Nigeria, not give him one hundred
percent support and encourage the minister too?

“We need to start taking actions to reclaim the looted money and
invest it in education, road construction and healthcare, among
others, to move the nation forward,” Shendam said.

The high point of the event was the presentation of a
congratulatory card to the minister.

NAN