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The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) said no less than 1,200 Nigerians lost their lives in 2023 alone while trying to migrate to foreign countries through illegal routes.
This was disclosed by the Comptroller, NIS Ekiti State Command, Ademola Abdulrasheed, while speaking at the grand finale of the three-day celebration of the 60th anniversary of NIS on Friday, August 4, 2023.
While bemoaning the unnecessary hardships and deaths usually suffered by Nigerians who use illegal ports of exits, the Comptroller lamented that many of the nation's youths die in the Sahara Desert, the Mediterranean Sea and so on.
Abdulrasheed said Nigerians are at liberty to travel abroad for reasons best known to them but also advised that such must be “safe, orderly and regular.”
“This Japa syndrome is a big challenge to those enrouting illegal ports of exit in the quest for greener pasture,” he noted.
Speaking further, the Comptroller revealed that “From available data from International Organisation for Migration, at least 1,200 Nigerians have died while trying to migrate through the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea in the year 2023 alone.”
“For those who survive, the dream of reaching their desired destination quickly becomes a mirage, some spend several months, even years in cells abroad for irregular migration, some are taken hostage by pirates who rob, maim and sometimes rape the female ‘japaists’.
“From the foregoing, Nigerians willing to ‘Japa’ are advised to reach out to any of our offices nationwide for necessary information and guidelines” to ensure safe, orderly and regular migration," Abdulrasheed added.
NIS transformation in the last 60 years
On the achievements of the Service, the Comptroller said the NIS has gone through a series of transformations in the last 60 years, evolving from the analogue years to the digital era.
He also commended acting Comptroller General of Immigration, Caroline Adepoju, for deeming it necessary to celebrate the 60th anniversary of NIS with a funfair.
“NIS has achieved a lot within these years in different areas of operations ranging from issuance of travel documents such as (passport, visa and residence permit), border management, migration management, national security and several others,” Abdulrasheed noted.