The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has announced that it is working with the Nigeria Immigration Service to check the influx of illegal immigrants and squatters who are hiding in some uncompleted buildings in and around the Federal Capital City, Abuja.
The FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello who made this announcement today, Tuesday, when he received a delegation of the Nigeria Immigration Service, FCT Command led by the Comptroller, Ahmed Yanda Ibrahim said that there were questionable persons residing in the FCT with no verifiable address or means of livelihood.
He said that various checks by FCT Administration officials revealed that some of them are illegal immigrants, saying that his government is ready to team up with the Immigration Service on issues that are intelligence related to eradicate these categories of persons and other miscreants that are staying illegally in the Federal Capital Territory.
“I will like to appeal to you to continue to provide support for us, especially as we profile a lot of people that we find in the city in abandoned buildings and locations where you just simply see so many people and you don’t know what they do; most of the times, once you check, you will see that a number of them are actually aliens.”
Muhammad Bello acknowledged the good working relationship between the FCT Administration and the Nigeria Immigration Service and said that the Administration would do everything legally possible within its mandate to sustain and strengthen the relationship.
“A few months ago, I discussed with the Comptroller-General with respect to his request to open a second passport office in Abuja and a place has been identified for you in Area 10; that place can be arranged to serve that purpose.”
The Minister promised to allocate a befitting plot of land for the Service to build its FCT Command in the Federal Capital City to enable it serve the residents better.
“Obviously, as you know, the FCTA does not have office facilities to give out to Agencies like your own. But looking at the importance of what you do, you might have to look at a way of renting something in the interim. But ultimately, we will try to identify a suitable piece of land where you can build up an office that you could use, that would cater for the Command and all the other offices for the services that you are rendering. But of course you know it will take some time.”
Earlier, the Comptroller of the Nigeria Immigration Service, FCT Command, Mr. Ahmed Yanda Ibrahim appealed to the Minister to give the Command a new office in the Abuja metropolis as they now stay in Gwagwaglada while other State Commands are situated in the capitals of the 36 states of the federation.
The Comptroller also requested for new operational vehicles, as the two vehicles being used now are very old because they are about six years old. [myad]
