Abuja – 7,436 Nigerians have crossed into Europe illegally from Nigeria in the second quarter of 2015 says official of the European Union (EU).
EU Deputy Head of Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Richard Young, made this known in a news briefing on migration issues in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
He explained that the figure was the number of irregular migrants that were officially recorded by the EU Border Agency, Frontex.
According to him, out of the 7,463 immigrants, 7124 illegally crossed through the sea borders while a total of 170,155 illegal migrants crossed the borders into Europe from various countries within that period.
He said investigations are ongoing to ascertain if they have a right of asylum or they are irregular migrants who crossed the borders illegally; noting that the EU has earmarked 1.8 billion pounds to set up an emergency trust fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa. “The fund is set up to address the crises in the regions of the Sahel and Lake Chad, the Horn of Africa and North Africa.”
Also, a senior EU official added that the fund was made available by member states aimed at fostering stability and contributing to better migration management in Africa. He noted that, the forthcoming 2015 Valletta Summit on Migration would bring EU and African countries together to enhance partnership and find common solutions to illegal migration; “the meeting would build on existing frameworks of cooperation to address the root causes of migration, establish and organize legal migration channels.
“It would also focus on ways to enhance the protection of migrants and asylum seekers as well as tackle exploitation and trafficking of migrants; and also improve on policies on the return and re-admission of illegal migrants.”
The official also confirmed that 34 African countries are invited to participate in the summit; 22 members of the 28 EU members would be represented by head of states and governments while the African Union, ECOWAS, and other regional economic communities across Africa would also be represented.
“We have invited African countries which we have agreements with on migration; half of them would be represented at the levels of Heads of State and Government while the others would be represented at the ministerial levels.
The official reiterated the commitment of EU to assisting African countries in building stronger migration policies and addressing root causes of migration.
