Thousands of Aliens Begin Exodus From Nigeria

Thousands of illegal aliens, lugging mattresses, clothing and cooking utensils, headed toward the Nigerian frontier Saturday, ordered out of the country by its military rulers.

The exodus came a day after the government announced a weeklong opening of its borders to speed the expulsion of about 700,000 foreigners.

Last month Nigeria ordered all aliens living and working in the country to update their immigration papers before May 10 or leave the country. The order came about two years after Nigeria ousted about 2 million foreign workers.

Nigeria’s borders with Benin, Niger, Chad and Cameroon have been closed since April, 1984, when the government shut them to fight the black market in currency.

On Friday, border officials in neighboring Benin, startled by the surprise opening of the frontier from Nigeria, barred several hundred refugees from entering the country. The refugees were forced to spend the night in a no man’s land between the two West African states, witnesses reported.

Benin, west of Nigeria, is a major corridor of travel to he countries of Ghana and Togo. Benin officials said they stopped the refugees because they had “no clear instructions” on how to deal with the potentially massive influx.

The worldwide decline in the price of oil has sent Nigeria into a steep economic decline, creating high unemployment and a some resentment among Nigerians that foreigners are taking their jobs and increasing the crime rate.