‘Some Africans use Nigerian passport to commit crime’

Citizens of some African countries, including Ghana, obtain Nigerian passport to perpetrate crime in various countries, Yusuf Hinna, a non-career ambassadorial nominee, has alleged.

According to NAN, he said this while responding to questions at his screening by the senate committee on foreign affairs in Abuja on Tuesday.

He told the lawmakers that some of the criminal activities carried out in several countries of the world were by nationals of other African countries who hold Nigerian passports, “and not by Nigerian citizens as often believed”.

He said if confirmed, he would embark on continuous screening to determine citizenship and eligibility for obtaining the Nigeria passport.

On xenophobia, Hinna said if confirmed and posted to South Africa, for instance, he would engage the country’s government in order to stop the “harassment” of Nigerians living in the country.

“There are dislikes against Nigerians in South Africa. When Nigerians arrive, police dogs are used to sniff them at the airport,” he said.

“If I am sent to such a country, I will engage the government so as to stop unwanted harassment.

“However, I recall that some Africans such as Ghanaians were arrested and they were carrying Nigeria passports.

“There is abuse of our green passports. There are security challenges, and we have to tackle them.”

On threat to world peace, the nominee said “nuclear weapons are dangerous to world affairs’’.

Hinna also spoke on the rise of different militant groups, particularly in Nigeria, who pose danger to the security of lives and property.

He called on the federal government to curtail activities of such groups so as “to protect the country against security threats greater than that currently posed by Boko Haram”.

NAN reports that other nominees screened by the committee were Sylvanus Nsofor, a retired justice from Imo state and Joseph Iji from Ondo state.

President Muhammadu Buhari in a letter dated March 29, 2017, requested the senate to reconsider Nsofor, who was earlier rejected for failing to scale through the initial process.

Iji’s nomination replaced Jacob Daodu, who was also rejected by the senate based on a report from the Department of State Security (DSS).

Hinna, from Gombe state, was nominated to replace Suleiman Hassan.