The Nigerian government has again asked Nigerians to be wary of people parading themselves as travel agents.
“The attention of the Federal Government of Nigeria has been drawn to the clandestine activities of unscrupulous elements parading themselves as agents and deceiving unsuspecting young Nigerians into believing that Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, provides easy access to greener pastures for studies and jobs opportunities,” Francisca Omayuli, the foreign affairs ministry spokesperson, said in a statement.
Ms Omayuli noted that the activities of these agents have led to an “alarming influx” of Nigerians into Northern Cyprus and unprecedented numbers of stranded young Nigerians.
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) had in August cautioned Nigerian students against going to Northern Cyprus.
NiDCOM’s boss, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said Northern Cyprus was not recognised by the UN and a lot of students had been killed there.
“There have been a lot of problems in Northern Cyprus; we have youths come to tell us, please tell everybody to stop going to Northern Cyprus.
“We did that some time ago and we were challenged at what rights we had to tell people not to go to Northern Cyprus.
“I say it again; if you have to go to Northern Cyprus, think twice about it; no fewer than 20 students have been killed over the years and nothing has happened to the assailants.
The ministry in its latest advisory advised Nigerians to be on the alert in order to guard against these so-called agents in Nigeria or elsewhere peddling admissions and the existence of unverifiable job opportunities in Northern Cyprus.
