Fresh facts have emerged on why the Nigerian Immigration Service officials at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, stopped 58 Nigerian doctors from flying to the United Kingdom.
First News learnt that the immigration officials at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport were “ordered from above” not to allow the medical doctors to depart because the NIS was no communicated about the mission of the doctors.
It was, however, learnt that the medical doctors were offered jobs in the UK and were to be paid salaries between £51,384 (N25.1m) and £98,112 (N47.9m) per annum, as reportedly stated in the advertisement for the various positions.
The affected doctors, it was gathered, actually got a job offer from a yet to be identified Hospital in the UK through a job recruitment agency, NES Healthcare, which helps UK health care providers to recruit personnel worldwide.
The firm was said to have sent a mail to the doctors that it had secured the approval of the UK government to fly them to England and then issue them visas on arrival.
The doctors were also asked, through the mail, to pay £500 for tickets on a chartered flight to convey them from Lagos to London.
First News also learnt that the aircraft with flight number ENT 550 and registration number SP-ES that flew in from London left Lagos on Saturday without the doctors.
On Friday, NIS spokesman, Sunday James, had said the doctors were denied departure because 56 out of 58 of them had no visas.
Also, James stated that the NIS was not against labour migration, but such must be done with due process followed to the latter.
“There was no communication to us at all. Ideally, no person is supposed to leave Nigeria without a visa and if we knew that they are going to get visa on arrival, at least there would be a document from the UK confirming that they have applied for visa on arrival and it has been approved,” he said.
He noted that the Immigration was only carrying out its statutory duty of control of entry and exit and couldn’t take any risk, especially as it was a chartered aircraft that came into the country to pick persons without any prior notification.
The NIS spokesman stressed that the attempt by the medical doctors to leave the country without visa amounted to smuggling, which is an immigration offence.
He, however, said the immigration service was not interested in punishing the doctors but turning them back would serve as deterrent to others who might want to engage in such immigration abuse in future.
“Let it be a lesson to others that the Nigeria Immigration Service is not sleeping,” James said.