Over 25,000 Nigerians deported in last two years

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, February 09, 2004

Over 25,000 Nigerians deported in last two years

More than 25,000 Nigerians have been deported from Europe, Asia, North and South American and some African countries in the last two years, according to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).

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More than 25,000 Nigerians have been deported from Europe, Asia, North and South American and some African countries in the last two years, according to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).

A statement issued by the NIS at the weekend showed that 19,000of them were males, while more than 6,000 females, majority of whom were prostitutes.

The Nigerians were allegedly involved in prostitution, human trafficking, drug related offenses and illegal immigration.

Many of the men and children were trafficked to Spain, Germany,Thailand, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Libya, South Africa, the United States and Canada for cheap labor, said the statement.

According to the NIS, a good number of the deportees would be handed over to the police for prosecution, while the National DrugLaw Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) would investigate many others.

The statement said that some of the deportees were suffering a second deportation from Italy in particular.

In October, 2001, members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the United Nations held an international meeting in Accra, the capital of Ghana, aimed at finding a lasting solution to human trafficking in West Africa.

Due to high unemployment rate arising from economic recession, many Nigerians want to find good jobs overseas so that human trafficking has become a serious social problem in the Africa's most populous country with a population of 138 million.

To bring aid to trafficked Nigerians abroad, the Nigerian government has signed immigration agreements with Italy, Spain andIreland, among others.

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