The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has disclosed that the Ghana Immigration Service, in collaboration with the Niger Embassy in Ghana, has repatriated a total of 1,320 Nigeriens to their home country.
This was contained in a statement released by the Ministry over the weekend. The Ministry said the first batch of 515 Nigeriens was sent to Niamey, Niger, on June 7 at around 12 mid-day by air.
“The second batch was also flown to their home country on June 8 at around 5 pm. The Consulate of Niger, in total, repatriated 500 males and 820 females. Out of the 500 males, 300 were adults and 200 were male children. The female adults were 400 with a total of 420 female children,” portions of the statement pointed out.
Repatriation efforts
The repatriation efforts, the Ministry said, form part of the government’s “Operation get off the street and street-connected project” to get beggars off the street.
The exercise started on June 5 after officials in the Consulate of Niger in Ghana mobilised human and financial resources and other logistics to repatriate its nationals.
The statement added: “The returnees were found under bridges, traffic lights intersections, street pavements, and other places begging for alms or loitering on the streets of Accra.”
This repatriation exercise, the government says, is part of the first phase of measures by the Gender Ministry to deal with the menace of streetism in the country.
The Ministry further urged the general public to support all efforts underway to collectively reduce “child begging and streetism” in the country.
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