The United Arab Emirates government has suspended Direct Employment Visa for Nigerians, as a result of the increasing rate of crimes involving Nigerians in the Middle-East country.
SaharaReporters learnt from credible sources that the UAE police are searching for more Nigerian nationals and conducting raids and arrests to get them jailed.
Sources noted that this is the norm in Abu Dhabi particularly.
“We all are shouting that our country is bad, and that our government is not rising to our needs, which is true, but our reputation abroad is also fast declining due to our character.
“Two weeks ago, some Nigerians killed one another for selfish reasons at Sharjah, and another one just happened here in Abu Dhabi, when some guys went to an Arab man’s house, killed him, his wife and took away a huge amount of money from them.
“The UAE government is now tracking every Nigerian in Abu Dhabi and they have also banned every Direct Employment Visa from Nigeria until further notice,” the source said.
“For like one week, this city (Abu Dhabi) has been hot. They (the police) are just arresting anyone on sight now. There was a cult incident where Nigerian cult members hacked one another in an area in Abu Dhabi here. It is not easy. As of yesterday (Monday), they have put restrictions on visas for Nigerians. For now, no work permit for Nigerians in UAE generally. The crisis started from Sharjah and last week in Abu Dhabi,” another Nigerian said.
In January 2021, the UAE arrested and detained many Nigerians in a series of sting operations targeted at irregular migrants.
The UAE security operatives had raided the homes of many African migrants, most of whom are Nigerians, living in towns including Al Qouz, Abu Hail, Sharjah, Al Barsha, and Deira.
According to a victim, about 80 percent of the persons arrested are legal residents while the remaining 20 are those with either visit visas or had visa-related issues.
When contacted, the Chairperson of Nigerians In Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, had said the affected persons would have to liaise with the mission in UAE for more information.
Another victim of the arrest in UAE corroborated the government’s explanation but explained that some stayed back because their travel documents were withheld by their employers.
Crime rates have been rising among Nigerians in the UAE.
On February 22, 2021, a 33-year-old Indian man in Dubai was robbed of Rs 55,30,806 by a gang of four Nigerian women after being lured into a fake massage parlour through a dating app.
The case was heard at the Dubai Court of First Instance.
According to Dubai Police, three Nigerian women were arrested from Sharjah after intensive investigations, while a fourth woman was still at large.
The three Nigerian defendants have been charged with robbery, issuing threats, keeping the victim forcefully confined inside an apartment, and prostitution.
