800 Nigerians detained in Saudi Arabia over irregular documentation
By Favour Nnabugwu
No fewer than 800 Nigerians are destained in Saudi Arabia for different offences as the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, NIDCOM warned Nigerians against traveling that country without proper documentation
In a statement released by NIDCOM revealed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has about Eight Hundred (800) Nigerians arrested and detained for various offenses particularly Consular issues since the clamp down began in October, 2022.
The statement further stated that its attention has been drawn to a communication from the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on Saudi Arabian authorities intensifying crackdown on undocumented foreigners in their country.
Going forward, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between October and December, 2022, intensified joint operations across the country targeted at ridding the Kingdom of undocumented irregular migrants.
In the letter to the Federal Government, the Saudi Arabian government noted that about Forty Five Thousand, Four Hundred and Fifty Eight (45,458) foreigners are in the country with offenses ranging from violation of residency rules, illegal border crossing attempts and irregular migrants for labor-related offenses.
NiDCOM says though the Nigerian Embassy in Saudi is intervening in this matter, it urges Nigerians to resist breaking the laws of other countries.
The commission however appealed to Nigerian citizens that if they must travel, they should travel with proper documentation.
