UK Government Met With Nigeria Officials Over Jailed Illegal Immigrants

 Officials of Nigeria and the United Kingdom (UK) governments again, met on Wednesday, to hold talks on a number of immigration issues, including transfer of sentenced persons between both countries.
The meeting held behind closed doors, as journalists were barred from covering it.
Barring journalists from covering details of multinational talks involving Nigeria and other nations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had since become a common practice at the ministry.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Martin Uhomoibhi, led a delegation from Nigeria, while the Director of Compliance and Return (Home office), Hugh Ind, led the UK delegation.

He said shortly before journalists were asked to excuse the meeting that Nigerians serving jail sentences in the UK were eagerly waiting to complete their jail sentences in Nigeria.
The Nigerian Tribune, however, gathered that both countries had discussions on the transfer of sentenced persons and on cooperation on the return of Nigerian nationals remaining unlawfully in the UK.

A source at the meeting told the Nigerian Tribune that the delegates equally considered cooperation on trafficking fight, as well as reviewed both countries’ immigration policies.

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According to the source, a few articles in the agreement that would see to the implementation of prisoners’ transfer between the two countries were not sorted out before the meeting.