No fewer than 53 Nigerians were among 112 undocumented African nationals arrested by Malaysian immigration authorities between January and October 31 over various immigration offences, Malaysian newspaper, Utusan Malaysia, has reported.
The Nigerians recorded the highest number of arrests among the African nationals, followed by Uganda with 13, Kenya with 10 and Ghana with eight.
The Director-General of Malaysia’s Immigration Department, Datuk Zakaria Shaaban, disclosed the figures in an interview with Utusan Malaysia, published on Friday.
According to the report, other nationals arrested included Somalia (6), Tanzania (6), Senegal (4), Algeria (3), Burkina Faso (2), Togo (2) and The Gambia (2). One national each from Guinea, Zimbabwe and Libya was also arrested.
Shaaban said the most common offence was entering or remaining in Malaysia without a valid pass or permit, contrary to Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
He said 85 people were arrested for the offence, including 47 Nigerians.
“The primary offence recorded is entering and remaining in the country without a valid pass or permit, under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63; this resulted in 85 arrests, 47 of which involved Nigerian nationals,” he said.
The immigration chief said 23 others were arrested for overstaying their permitted period under Section 15(1)(c) of the same Act.
