The Federal Governmenton Saturdayreceived no fewer than 198 Nigerians illegally residing in Saudi Arabia. They touched down at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport at about10am.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that this number was out of the 1,800 Nigerians living illegally in Saudi Arabia, who were given amnesty to return to the country.

NAN reports that the 198 persons including women and children returned with their luggage on board a Med-View aircraft.

Officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) received the first batch of the returnees.

Mohammed Yahaya-Sani, the Consular at the Nigerian Consulate in Jedda, Saudi Arabia, who led the illegal immigrants to Nigeria, told newsmen that the Federal Government sponsored their return.

According to him, the illegal migrants voluntarily reported to the Nigerian Embassy to be returned to Nigeria in compliance with the three months evacuation notice issued to them by Saudi authorities, which will expire onJuly 24.

Yahaya-Sani said that contrary to speculations, the returnees were not deported but voluntarily accepted the amnesty offer granted them by the Saudi authorities for illegal immigrants to leave the country.(NAN)