Germany Set To Repatriate 30,000 Nigeria

Onyeama and Dr. Hecker (Photo Credit: NAN)

Germany has come up with a new process that will enhance the smooth repatriation of over 30,000 illegal Nigerian migrants back to the country.

Geoffrey Onyeama, Minister of Foreign Affairs, made this known when he received Dr Jan Hecker, the Security Adviser to the President of Germany, and his team in Abuja.

The Minister said that the new plan would amend the perceived failures and slow pace of the current system of repatriation.

According to him, the participation of Nigerian embassies and consulate and the German immigration office is crucial to this proposal.

“They don’t have enough faith and confidence in the process that we have at the moment for the repatriation process.
“Some of the delays they believed are with the mission and consulate in Germany.

” They want to propose a completely new process of repatriation, known as Return and Re-admission,” he said.

Onyeama disclosed that out of about 30,000, only 200 Nigerian have returned to the country in the past two years.

“Germans were not happy that the system we have in place at the moment is certainly not working to their satisfaction,” he said.

Onyeama with the Team from Germany (Photo Credit: NAN)

According to him, the new process essentially entails that once all legal processes have been exhausted, Nigeria should trust them (Germany), to make right decision on whom should be repatriated.

the Minister said further that Germany would repatriate the affected persons to Nigeria without the involvement of Nigeria’s mission in Germany who the proposal come on stream.

“They will bring them here to Nigeria and say we have gone through a process in Germany; these people are your nationals, they have exhausted all the legal processes, please take them.

“And it will be here on Nigeria territory that any possibility will then exist to say maybe that one is not or this one is not.” he said.

Onyeama, while describing the proposed process as a complete transformation of the current process, noted that Germany aside from issuing travel documents to those to be repatriated, would also be responsible for their travels.

Earlier, Jan Hecker said he was in Nigeria to see how both countries could intensify their bilateral relations and achieve good result, particularly on migration.