In 6 months: 691,934 travelled out through Lagos airport, 4,281 deported —Interior Ministry 

The Ministry of Interior has said that 4,281 Nigerians have been repatriated back home from Europe, America and African countries through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos in the first half of 2017.

This is just as a total of 691,934 travellers departed the shores of the country through the Lagos airport while another 560,988 arrived the country within the period under review.

A document made available to the media through the Ministry of Interior, indicated that the deported Nigerians were flown into the Lagos airport on either chartered or regular flights.

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According to the document, between January and June, 2017, 2,251 Nigerians were deported through chartered flights majorly from Libya and some European countries.

The breakdown of those deported through chartered flights showed that 1,321 of them were males while the other 930 were females.

Those deported through regular flights mainly from Europe, South Africa and a few African countries were 2,030 Nigerians and males.

According to the document, 1,502 makes were deported while 528 females were equally deported within the period.

Out of the figure, while those who were involved in criminal activities in their host countries were handed over to the Nigeria Police for further prosecution, some involved in drug related matters were handed over to the officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the airport while others were returned to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (NAPTIP).

The document further revealed that in the first of the year, 691,954 passengers both Nigerians and foreigners used the facilities at the Lagos international airport to depart to various destinations from the country.

Out of these numbers, 519,215 were Nigerians and majorly males while another 179,739 were foreigners departing the country.

Also, within the period, 550,988 passengers arrived Nigeria through the international wing of the Lagos Airport.

The breakdown revealed that 392,237 of them were Nigerians while the other 158,751 were foreigners from various countries.

The statistics according to an immigration source were important for the Nigerian government to know the numbers of people entering or exiting the country.