British Government has donated N56 million Returnees Reception Centre, constructed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, to the Nigerian Immigration Service.

The centre was jointly inaugurated by the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Paul Arkwright and the Minister of Interior, Lieutenant-General Abdulrahman Dambazau in Lagos on Wednesday.

Dambazua said the centre was part of efforts to enhance service delivery and in line with global best practice in modern migration management.

He said it was also in line with the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Nigeria and the United Kingdom on June one, twenty-zero-five.

According to him, it will deepen the robust partnership between the two countries in migration management and be a symbol of their commitment to respect human rights of migrants to dignified returns.

Dambazau reaffirmed the commitment of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to the protection of the rights of Nigerians wherever they are and promised improved service delivery to Nigerians in diaspora.

Arkwright said Nigeria was a valued partner to the United Kingdom, stressing that Nigeria was the third highest source of visitors to the country.

He said Buhari had on several occasions made it clear to Nigerians overseas not to run afoul of the laws of their host countries in order to bolster Nigeria’s reputation.

According to him, the centre was constructed in about two years with N56 million and will help facilitate the processing of returnees to the country in a dignified manner.

Arkwright said the issue of returnees and their luggage being left at the tarmac for significant periods had been eliminated with the inauguration of the centre.

He added that it was equipped with modern facilities that would assist in the processing, rehabilitation and reintegration of the returnees by the Nigerian authorities.

Comptroller General of the NIS, Muhammad Babandede, urged the officers of the service to ensure proper maintenance of the centre in order to realise its objective.

He also warned them against maltreatment of returnees, stressing that the Federal Government was committed to protecting the rights of all Nigerians, irrespective of their circumstances.