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Turkey Deports 103 Nigerians

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The Federal Government has received no fewer than 103 Nigerians deported from Turkey over alleged migration-related issues such as expired visas and irregular migration, among others.

Alhaji Tijani Ahmed, the Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), stated this on Friday evening, during the deportees’ profiling in Abuja.

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Represented by Amb. Catherine Udida, the Director of Migration Affairs in the commission, Ahmed said that the commission expected 110 deportees but received 103, all males.

“Some of them have been in the deportation camp for some months, and now that they are here, we are hoping to follow up on all the allegations gathered in their profiling.

“We will go through the profiling forms, because some of them have said that their passports were seized.

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“We are going to follow up with the Turkish authority, because the passports are still the property of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he assured.

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Similarly, Mr Bashir Garga, the North-Central Zonal Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), assured the returnees of government’s readiness to support them through collaborative efforts of all relevant agencies.

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However, some of the deported Nigerians have denied any wrongdoings.

One of the victims, Mr Arinze Stone, said that Turkish authority arrested and detained him in the camp for about six months, adding that he had been living in Turkey for quite some years doing business.

“They were arresting people whose paper are not yet out or just expired,” he said.

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He alleged that it was since the European Union started paying Turkey for illegal immigrants, that the government stopped issuing and renewing resident permits.

READ ALSO: NCoS Dismisses Controller, Two Others For Trafficking Illegal Items, Forgery

Each day, the European Union pays 120 Euros per head of immigrants in the Immigration Camp.

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“Ever since I had been in Turkey, I always had my resident permit renewed. It just got expired and the Turkish authority collected 700 euros from me for tax and insurance and then cancelled the renewal,” he explained.

Stone added that the deportation fee of about 2,500 Euros that was supposed to be given to each victim was not paid.

Another victim, Mr Moses Emeh, said he had a registered company in Turkey which had been functioning for more than eight years.

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“I also have a resident permit, which was forcibly cancelled but I had earlier planned to convert it into a working permit.

”I don’t know where to start from. But I believe this is a diplomatic issue and I trust our foreign affairs minister to follow it up.

“I also think that they should have a sensitisation programme for Nigerians still living over there in Turkey because the Turkish government is not being sincere and transparent with us,” Emeh stated.

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READ ALSO: Nigeria Missing In Top 10 Most Stressful Countries In Africa

He narrated that he was arrested and put in a dungeon for 11 months and three weeks.

“I was told that If I did not sign the deportation documents, I would have to stay in their custody for one year to two years, after which I could be released and given immigration documents to sign, then be reintegrated into the system. But, they never fulfilled that.

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“I also know that occupying a territory, without a permit is a crime, but mine was forcibly terminated twice, and I took the case to court.

“Since my case was already in court and the court was yet to preside over my case, I don’t think it is right for them to deport me,” he added.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the returnees were given some dignity kits, starter packs and stipends to enable them to travel to their respective places.
(NAN)

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India Issues Health Alert After Spike In ‘brain-eating’ Amoeba Deaths

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India has issued a health alert after infections and deaths caused by a rare water-borne “brain-eating” amoeba doubled compared to last year in the southern state of Kerala.

Numbers are still tiny but Altaf Ali, a doctor who is part of a government task force to arrest the spread, told AFP that officials were “conducting tests on a large scale across the state to detect and treat cases”.

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Officials reported 19 deaths and 72 infections of the Naegleria fowleri amoeba this year, including nine deaths and 24 cases in September alone.

READ ALSO:India Test-fires Ballistic Missile, Capable Of Reaching All Of China

Last year, the amoeba killed nine people out of 36 reported cases.

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The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says it is often called a “brain-eating amoeba” because it can “infect the brain and destroy brain tissue”.

If the amoeba reaches the brain, it can cause an infection that kills over 95 per cent of those affected.

Infections are “very rare but nearly always fatal”, the CDC notes.

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The amoeba lives in warm lakes and rivers and is contracted by contaminated water entering the nose. It does not spread from person to person.

The World Health Organisation says that symptoms include headache, fever and vomiting, which rapidly progresses to “seizures, altered mental status, hallucinations, and coma”.

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“It’s worrying that new cases this year have emerged from across the state, as opposed to specific pockets in the past,” Ali said.

Since 1962, nearly 500 cases have been reported worldwide, mostly in the United States, India, Pakistan, and Australia.

AFP

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Gunmen On Motorbikes Kill 22 At Baptism Ceremony In Niger

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Gunmen on motorbikes shot dead 22 villagers in western Niger, most attending a baptism ceremony, local media and other sources said Tuesday.

The shootings happened on Monday in the Tillaberi region, near Burkina Faso and Mali, where jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group (IS) are active.

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A resident of the area told AFP that 15 people were killed first at a baptism ceremony in Takoubatt village.

The attackers then went to the outskirts of Takoubatt where they killed seven other people,” said the resident, who requested anonymity for security reasons.

READ ALSO:Two Nigerians Face Jail Terms In Liberia’s Piracy Trial

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Local media outlet Elmaestro TV reported a “gruesome death toll of 22 innocent people cowardly killed without reason or justification”.

“Once again, the Tillaberi region has been struck by barbarism, plunging innocent families into mourning and despair,” Nigerien human rights campaigner Maikoul Zodi said on social media.

Niger’s military leaders, who came to power two years ago in a coup, have struggled to contain jihadist groups in Tillaberi, despite maintaining a large army presence there.

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Around 20 soldiers were killed in the region last week.

READ ALSO:Nigerian Jailed In US Over $6m Inheritance Fraud

Human Rights Watch has urged Niger authorities to “do more to protect” civilians against deadly attacks.

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The rights monitoring group estimates that the Islamic State group has “summarily executed” more than 127 villagers and Muslim worshippers in Tillaberi in five attacks since March.

Meanwhile, the NGO ACLED, which tracks conflict victims worldwide, says around 1,800 people have been killed in attacks in Niger since October 2024 — three-quarters of them in Tillaberi.

Niger and its neighbours, Burkina Faso and Mali, also ruled by military coup leaders who claim to pursue a sovereignist policy, have expelled the French and American armies that were fighting alongside them against jihadism.

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Serbia Indicts Ex-minister, 12 Others Over Train Station Tragedy

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Serbian prosecutors filed an updated indictment on Tuesday against 13 people, including a former minister, over a fatal railway station roof collapse that has triggered a wave of anti-government protests.

The prosecution said all those indicted, among them former construction minister Goran Vesic, face charges of “serious crimes against public safety” over the tragedy that killed 16 people last November.

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“The indictment proposes that the Higher Court in Novi Sad order custody for all the defendants,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

The roof collapse at the newly renovated station in Serbia’s second-largest city, Novi Sad, became a symbol of entrenched corruption and sparked almost daily protests.

READ ALSO:FG Panel Indicts AFN In Ofili’s Paris Olympics Omission

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Protesters first demanded a transparent investigation, but their calls soon escalated into demands for early elections.

The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad initially filed an indictment at the end of December, but judges returned it in April, requesting more information.

The accused were released or placed under house arrest following the decision.

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The prosecutor’s office said it had complied with the judge’s request and had now completed the supplementary investigation.

READ ALSO:NDLEA Arrests Indian Businessman, 3 Others Over Alleged Trafficking Of N3.9bn Tramadol

The prosecutor specialising in organised crime and corruption in Belgrade is leading a separate, independent investigation into the tragedy.

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That investigation is focused on 13 people, including Vesic and another former minister, Tomislav Momirovic, who headed the Construction Ministry before him.

In March, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) launched a third, separate investigation into the possible misuse of EU funds for the station’s reconstruction.

AFP

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