The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has lamented the unfavourable deportation of Nigerians from the United States in recent days.
She complained about the emotional and financial toll the unprepared deportations are having on Nigerians in the US and their families back home.
The Minister has called on Washington to uphold international conventions for a dignified repatriation process.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu shared her concern in a meeting with US Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills Jr.
In a statement signed by her media aide, Magnus Eze, on Sunday, she stated that “with about 201 Nigerians currently detained in US immigration centres, and about 85 cleared for deportation,” the Federal Government is pushing for a more humane process.
While noting that most Nigerians abroad are the breadwinners of their families as they send vital remittances to the families, the deportation process need not be traumatic or abrupt for individuals with no history of violence.
“We are asking as a country whether they will be given ample time to handle their assets or will they just be bundled into planes and repatriated?” she questioned.
The minister also expressed concern about the potential suspension of the US’s Drop Box Visa System, which has allowed Nigerians to renew visas without in-person interviews.
Furthermore, Odumegwu-Ojukwu voiced worries over the ongoing review of USAID programmes, critical to humanitarian efforts in Nigeria.
She called for clarity, stressing that any reduction in aid would disproportionately affect vulnerable communities in Nigeria and across Africa.
“We cannot say whether it’s outright suspension. A lot of NGOs are worried about getting clarifications. We will just make that appeal on behalf of the NGOs in Nigeria, even less than a month into the 90 days review, there have been concerns. And I know before the completion of the review, there are already humanitarian issues in Nigeria and Africa.
“We will make an appeal that this initiative be preserved, even if it is abrogated as an agency, there must be a way of keeping the ideals to ensure that the poor beneficiaries in the communities, not just in Nigeria but Africa are not abandoned,” the minister of state appealed.
In response, Ambassador Mills assured that the Drop Box Visa System had not been suspended, explaining that the US was undergoing a policy review typical with any new administration.
He noted, “Some of these NGOs are feeling the pains, but the situation is being reviewed.”
On the deportation issue, Mills stated that those to be repatriated would return to Lagos and clarified that most deportees would include convicted criminals or individuals who violated US immigration laws.
“Those to be repatriated would be dropped in Lagos. There would not be room for whether it should be in Port Harcourt or Abuja.
“The first group will be convicted prisoners; those who committed crimes and are in US prisons. Some of them are those who have clearly violated US immigration laws. They appealed but were denied yet they are still in the US. They have committed immigration crimes, people who have been ordered to leave,” he said.
