The Zambian Department of Immigration says it has detained 283 suspected illegal immigrants of various nationalities pending further screening and prosecution, in a major crackdown and clean-up operation conducted on Wednesday in different parts of Lusaka.

The Zambian Immigration Public Relations Officer, Namati Nshinka, who disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, said the operation was carried out in collaboration with the Zambia Police, Drug Enforcement Commission, and the National Anti-Terrorism Centre.

Nshinka said 357 suspects were initially apprehended during the operation, which began at 05:00 hours, also gave a breakdown of the nationalities of the arrested illegal immigrants.

“Among those detained were 207 Burundians, 61 individuals claiming to be Zambian citizens, 53 Congolese, 10 Rwandese, six Tanzanians and four Malawians,” Nshinka said.

He added that the arrested suspects also included two Eritreans, two Indians, two Zimbabweans, one Egyptian, one Lebanese and one Pakistani.

He stated that screening was conducted at Edwin Imboela Stadium, where 68 individuals, mostly Zambians, were released unconditionally.

“Six were asked to report to Immigration Offices for further formalities, while two Zambians apprehended for drug-related offences were handed over to the Drug Enforcement Commission,’ the Immigration PRO said.

“The Department wishes to thank members of the public for their cooperation during this operation, which contributed to its success and ensured it was incident-free,” Nshinka added.

The Nigerian government has assured citizens that the fuel scarcity being experienced across the country will end this weekend.

The assurance was given by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, while briefing journalists on Thursday shortly after a meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima at the instance of President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Speaking to State House correspondents after the meeting, Lokpobiri said there was enough fuel in the reserves which would be released accordingly.

“We were summoned by the Vice President who was directed by Mr. President to summon this meeting and we have been with him to brief him about what is going on across the country,” Lokpobiri said.

“The Vice President summoned us and we have been with him to brief him about what is going on across the country. And what is important is for us to convey to Nigerians that the President is empathetic about what is going on in the country.

‘He (Tinubu) is concerned about the hardship of Nigerians, and that was why he directed the Vice President to call this meeting, for us to reflect on what is going on in the country.

“What is important is that products are available in the country, and we believe that between now and the weekend, there will be availability of products across the length and breadth of the country.

“The price could be high in some other areas, much higher in some other locations, and in some locations, much more than you know other areas.

“But we believe that by the time there is availability of products across the country, the price itself will stabilized.

“But what is important is that government is not fixing prices. This sector is deregulated. And we believe that with the availability of products, the price will find its level. And this is important for Nigeria to know,” he added.