Immigration personnel intercept visually impaired Nigerians

Five visually impaired Nigerians, who claimed they were 'professional beggars', were intercepted by personnel of the Ghana Immigration Service on board Aflao-Accra bound bus at Sogakope last Monday.

Nura Kasum, 70, Sali Abdul Karim, 70, Abdul Hamidu, 50, Hamadu Rufia, 65, and Tasir Issaku, 60, who were travelling with seven boys, aged between 15 and 20 years, said they were in Ghana to seek greener pastures due to harsh economic conditions in Nigeria.

All the 12 foreigners from Kano State in Nigeria, who spoke only Hausa, have since been handed over to the police at Aflao for investigations.

A source close to the Immigration Service, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the 12 persons came to Ghana through separate unauthorized entry points on the Ghana-Togo frontier individually.

He said the 12 persons finally converged at Aflao and boarded the bus for Accra, but they were prevented from doing so at about 0021 hours at the Sogakope checkpoint.

Mr Daniel Dzansi, Aflao District Police Crime Officer, said Police suspect the presence of the group in the country as the handy work of a human trafficking syndicate, and that the chief of the visually impaired at Sabon Zongo was the likely host of the suspects.

Mr Dzansi said the police would seek an order from the court for the deportation of the 12 persons since they were prohibited immigrants.