Ekhomu argued the move will assist in preventing ISIS fighters from infiltrating the country.
Speaking with the Vanguard, Ekhomu noted that there is a threat of infiltration of ISIS fighters into the country, so it was necessary to prove the identities of the returnees before releasing them.
Ekhomu’s argument is not far-fetched. Recall that it was reported in the media last year that the Boko Haram insurgents pledged allegiance to ISIS.
He says: “Some of these people might have pledged Bayat to ISIS. They need to be separated out from those who migrated for economic reasons.”
Whilst disclosing that most of the returnees did not have travel documents and should not be merely assumed to be Nigerians since it was not possible to identify a Nigerian by face.
He suggested other methods of verification might be employed to ascertain their true identities of returnees.
He says: “These should include questions about their date of birth, place of birth, LGA, the name of their traditional ruler, primary and secondary school attended, ethnic nationality, native language spoken. etc.
“In order to discern their purpose for migration, they should be questioned about the source of funds for their trip to Libya”
Side note: We think using the fingerprint electronic data could prove useful and more effective in this regard.
Continuing Ekhomu says all “all information provided must be quickly investigated, verified before they will be cleared to enter the society.”
Describing President Muhammadu Buhari’s efforts at ordering the repatriation of the Nigerians as a move any responsible government should take, the PhD holder says:
“The government must again do the ‘responsible thing of ascertaining the true identity of these returnees as there is a high probability that a few of them may be ISIS Fighters escaping from Libya, or coming to Nigeria to execute a possible terrorist plot.
“Nigeria has too many active killing fields right now and does not need the threat of ISIS infiltration.”
Vanguard
Hmmm threat is prohibited