Nigeria Immigration Service Bars 4,916 From Traveling Abroad (See Why)

The Nigeria Immigration Service said it barred no fewer than 4,916 Nigerians from traveling out of the country between January and March, 2015.

The Nigerians were suspected to be on their way to join international terrorist organizations, including the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq and the Taliban, sources within the NIS confided in our correspondent.

The NIS also said that 758 Nigerians were refused entry abroad while 1, 368 others were deported within the period.

Also, it said 12,152 foreigners were refused entry into Nigeria because they had no genuine reasons for visiting the country.

For the whole of 2014, the NIS prevented 18,555 Nigerians from leaving the country, according to passenger movement returns obtained from the service.

Two Nigerian youths suspected to be on their way to Iraq to join the ISIS were arrested by the Indian security service last week after scaling a barbed wire fence near the international border.

The two youths from Kano State, identified as Imran Kabeer and Sani Jamiliu, were being detained by the Punjab Police in India.

The NIS Public Relations Officer, Emeka Obua, in an interview on Monday said the organization had intensified profiling of travelers as part of measures to check people going abroad to do things that are inimical to themselves and the image of the country.