Posted by By Ben-Bright Mkpuma, Financial Standard on
Mr. Pierre Helg, ambassador of Switzerland to Nigeria, has said that no fewer than 500 Nigerians who entered the country illegally are due to be repatriated back to Nigeria.
Mr. Pierre Helg, ambassador of Switzerland to Nigeria, has said that no fewer than 500 Nigerians who entered the country illegally are due to be repatriated back to Nigeria.
He said this would be done as soon as bilateral agreements for repatriation between Nigeria and his country are ratified by the National Assembly. There are about 2, 900 Nigerians living officially in Switzerland.
The Swiss authorities' reports have shown that these illegal immigrants are currently heavily engaged in illicit drug business and prostitution. The authorities are worried about what they described as bleak future for these Nigerian citizens, in terms of lack of meaningful source of livelihood.
The Swiss Federal Office of Migration budgets about one billion Swiss Francs (about $1 billon), annually for the upkeep of refuges and people seeking asylum.
When arrangements for the repatriation of these 500 immigrants are finalised, each of the deportees is expected to be given about $1, 714(about N240, 000), to use and start life afresh in Nigeria.
However, ambassador Helg describing the process of the repatriation as a "complicated issue" said since the National Assembly is slow in rectifying the agreement between the two countries, both countries' immigration authorities will have to co-operate to effect it, adding that "it is an international issue."
The ambassador also debunked reports that the Swiss government has deliberately bluffed the Swiss Supreme Court ruling ordering the return of $460 million (about N67.20 billion) being part of monies stashed in various Swiss banks by the late general Sani Abacha and his family.
He said the Swiss Court ruling supersedes any other directives from any arm of the Swiss government, adding that the issue of illegal immigrants and the decision to deport them is a global issue, which Nigeria should be proactive about.
"The issue of repatriating these illegal immigrants back to Nigeria has nothing to do with the delays in bringing back Nigerian property. They are two different issues. It is important that this misunderstanding in the public is corrected. There was no additional condition attached to the repatriation of the monies stolen by the late Abacha.
"The repatriation of the Nigerian illegal immigrants living in Switzerland is not a condition for the restitution of the funds. It is only a coincidental issue between the two countries, and Switzerland expects a more pro-active cooperation from the Nigerian authorities in this context", explained ambassador Helg.
© 2005 Financial Standard