Saudi Arabia government says 800 Nigerians detained since October,2022

The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), have sounded a warning to Nigerians who are travelling to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia without going through the right channels. 

The commission cautioned Nigerians who moved  to  Saudi Arabia without proper documentation as Saudi authorities have heightened a clampdown on irregular migrants.

 NiDCOM issued this warning in a statement where it said its attention had been drawn to a communication from the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on Saudi Arabian authorities, intensifying the crackdown on undocumented foreigners in their country.

The letter stated that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between October and December 2022, intensified joint operations across the country targeted at ridding the kingdom of undocumented irregular migrants.

In the letter to the Federal Government, the Saudi Arabian government noted that about 45,458 foreigners were in the country for offences ranging from violation of residency rules, illegal border crossing attempts and irregular migrants for labour-related offences.

It states that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has about 800 Nigerians arrested and detained for various offences, particularly Consular issues since the clampdown began in October 2022.

NiDCOM said though the Nigerian Embassy in Saudi was intervening in this matter, it urged Nigerians to resist breaking the laws of other countries to avoid similar situations in the future. 

The commission, however, appealed to Nigerian citizens that if they must travel, they should make sure they have the necessary travel documents  through the  proper process.