The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), on Friday, embarked on a rally to sensitise students of a secondary school and university as well as traders against irregular migration and smuggling of migrants.

The comptroller general of Immigration, Caroline Adepoju, warned students and traders during the rally held to mark the anti-smuggling of Migrants Week on Friday in Abuja.

Mrs Adepoju, who was represented by the chief superintendent of immigration (CSI), Innocent Olowu, advised the students and traders not to be deceived by some people who might want to lure them into travelling out of the country through irregular routes.

She said the rallies were held in secondary schools, universities and markets in order to reach the targeted people.

She also said NIS decided to bring the message of anti-smuggling of migrants to schools because of the number of youths that were dying, passing through the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean Sea.

Mrs Adepoju counselled the students on how they could migrate through regular means, saying that travelling out of the country through irregular means was dangerous.

According to her, the students and youths need to know that travelling safely, orderly and through regular means is better than risking their lives.

“We are losing lives, and the numbers are outrageous, and because of this, we thought of a preventive measure by creating awareness of the dangers of irregular migrations.

“The one at schools was directed at the students themselves who will understand what we are talking about and will also talk to their parents about what they were told.

“We were in the markets to meet the traders so that they would not allow their children to be trafficked or smuggled out of the country.

“Any person that wants to travel out of the country should go to the NIS office to obtain a passport and seek proper advice.

“Travelling through the desert and irregular routes is dangerous and should be avoided,” she said.

Mrs Adepoju said at the end of the campaign, it was expected that students and youths would make up their minds not to leave the country through unrecognised routes and borders or leave with fake documents.

A student of GSS Airport, Prosper Omole, lamented that kidnapping, banditry, robbery, and killings, among others, had led young ones like him to leave the country through irregular routes.

Ms Omole, however, assured that he would leave the country through regular channels, adding that he would also take the message to his friends and family by encouraging them to avoid irregular migration.

Other Students and traders pledged their support to help the service curb irregular migration and avoid the smuggling of migrants.

The Immigration Service visited the Government Secondary School (GSS) Airport, the University of Abuja and Gosa Market to campaign against irregular migration and smuggling of migrants.

The sensitisation, which was led by the comptroller general and personnel of the service, took off from the headquarters of the Service and terminated at Gosa Market, Airport Road.

(NAN)