Airlines operating at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, are owing the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Airport Command.
The command said 3,102 Nigerians were deported between January and last month for immigration offences.
The Comptroller of Immigration, MMIA Command, Mrs. Chizoba Dibi, who addressed reporters in Lagos at the weekend, regretted the debts, saying efforts to recover them had proved abortive.
Thirty commercial airlines operate in and out of MMIA daily. This is besides the numerous private aircraft that operate at the terminal.
She recalled that the former Minister of Interior, Mr. Aba Moro, in two letters dated February 19 and April 26 conveyed approval of the command to withdraw passenger clearance from the highest debtor, to act as a deterrent to other airlines.
Mrs. Dibi said she hoped that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration would give the same approval to the command to recover its debts.
As at the end of last month, she said the command processed 665,450 arriving passengers and 755,817 departed through MMIA within the period.
Mrs. Dibi added that the command refused 353 Nigerians from departing the country. One hundred and forty seven foreigners were disallowed from entering the country.
The comptroller said 3,102 regular deportee-Nigerians were received within the year and that the command also received 508 special deportees, while five foreigners were deported.
END
Be the first to comment