The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has arrested about 800 undocumented Nigerians who are currently trapped in the Arab country according to  a statement by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM)

This followed a series of crackdowns by the Saudi Arabian authorities targeting irregular migrants. A statement signed by Gabriel Odu of the Media, Public Relations and Protocol Unit of NIDCOM, urged Nigerians traveling to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia without proper documentation not to do so as Saudi authorities have heightened a clamp down on irregular migrants.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has about 800 Nigerians arrested and detained for various offenses particularly Consular issues since the clampdown began in October 2022,” the statement added.

While the Nigerian Embassy in Saudi is said to be intervening, NIDCOM urged Nigerians “to resist breaking the laws of other countries.”

The commission also appealed to Nigerian citizens “that if they must travel, they should travel with proper information about the host country and most importantly, legitimate documents.”