The Republic of Ireland has deported no fewer than 35 Nigerians, including five children, to Nigeria in a chartered flight that departed from Dublin Airport on Wednesday night.

According to the Irish Mirror, the returnees, comprising 21 men, nine women, and five children, landed in Nigeria on Thursday.

Irish Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan, said he was “happy to say” that all of them returned to Nigeria despite an unscheduled stopover due to a medical incident on board.

While the Irish government did not give a specific reason for the deportation of the Nigerian nationals, O’Callaghan only said, “Ireland has a rules-based immigration system. It is important that those rules are robust and enforced.”

However, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission said it was not aware of the deportation of the Nigerians by Ireland on Thursday.

The NiDCOM spokesperson, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, made this known to Punch Diaspora Tales on Thursday.