In a statement signed by her media aide, Magnus Eze, on Sunday, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu revealed that “with about 201 Nigerians currently detained in US immigration centers and about 85 cleared for deportation,” the Federal Government is calling for adherence to internationally prescribed guidelines.
The United States has begun deportation proceedings for Nigerian nationals, with 85 of them scheduled to arrive in Lagos and 116 others still in detention.
In a Monday post titled “US Deportations Begin” on her official X account, she restated the government’s position.
Bianca voiced worries about how deportations affect Nigerians in the US and their families on an emotional and financial level.
“With the new administration in the US, we want a situation where there will be commitments. If there will be repatriation, we want a dignified return.
“At the moment, we’re told that about 201 Nigerian nationals are in US immigration camps, and about 85 have been cleared for deportation.
“Will there be any way of ameliorating their pains? This has been of great concern to not just Nigerian nationals in the US but family members in Nigeria who depend on them for survival, children whose school fees are paid for by these diasporans.
“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?
The first batch of deportees will be those serving prison sentences in the United States, US envoy Richard Mills Jr. emphasized.
“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.”