Posted by M. Ghazanfar Ali Khan, Arab News on
Saudi Arabia has deported 420 illegal Nigerian workers following a nationwide crackdown on illegal overstayers. The Nigerians were sent back to Abuja on a special Saudia flight from Jeddah last Tuesday.
RIYADH, 23 August 2005 - Saudi Arabia has deported 420 illegal Nigerian workers following a nationwide crackdown on illegal overstayers. The Nigerians were sent back to Abuja on a special Saudia flight from Jeddah last Tuesday.
Diplomats at the Nigerian Embassy did not elaborate about the deportations. An official at the Nigerian consulate in Jeddah confirmed that '420 Nigerian nationals were deported by the Saudi government last week."
A source said that many Nigerians come to the Kingdom for Haj or Umrah and remain here illegally in order to work.
'While many find employment as laborers or domestics, some have also been implicated in drug-trafficking and prostitution," said the source.