Over 1000 Nigerians Deported

About 100 Nigerians were on Wednesday deported from four Scandinavian countries for immigration and related offences. The deportees were from Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland.

They were flown into the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, aboard a chartered aircraft that took off from Oslo, Norway, en route Madrid in Spain.

The plane touched down in Lagos at about 6. 50pm after which it taxied to the cargo wing of the airport where the deportees were handed over to security agencies for documentation.

Immediately after disembarking from the aircraft, the deportees were escorted by security personnel who led them to the palace gate entrance of the cargo terminal.

One of the deportees, who would not want his name mentioned, told The Nation that Nigerian Embassy officials in Sweden connived with Norwegian authorities to facilitate their deportation.

According to him, a certain female embassy official collected over one thousand Euros per deportee from the Norwegian government to facilitate their return to Nigeria.

Another deportee, who also pleaded anonymity, alleged that the authorities maltreated her in Finland despite her being pregnant. She noted that after spending over eight years in Greece, she moved to Finland to seek asylum.

It was gathered that the deportees were sent packing after they failed to secure asylum in Finland, where they have been in a deportation camp.