Up to 300 illegal immigrants were arrested in Edo state recently.

On Thursday, the Controller of Immigration in the state, David Akwo, reportedly said 120 of those arrested would soon be deported, and that the Malians among them would be handed over to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, in line with UN resolution.

“With the assistance of the state governor, from Tuesday, we began to arrest illegal aliens and we arrested over 300 of them. However, some of them are Nigerians and of course, we cannot deport them, but those that do not have valid papers will be deported,” Akwo said.

“When we talk of ECOWAS Protocol, what people do not understand is that there has to be valid documents, to be able to move freely in the ECOWAS countries and entry must be through designated entry points.”

“Some of them are Nigeriens, others are Ghanaians, Guineans and Chadians, and others are Malians. Of course, you know the security situation in the country; a lot of them have been arrested for following Boko Haram.”