'Only 1 Nigerian out of 52 arrested last month had passport'

Panaji: Goa police said that of the 52 Nigerians who were arrested for staging a violent protest on the national highway in the state in October, only one could produce a valid passport.

As many as 38 had no passports at all. Of the rest, some did not have original passports but produced photocopies, police said.

One of them had a "permit" to stay in India (but no passport).

All of them were arrested on September 31 after they staged a blockade on the highway to protest murder of a fellow Nigerian. The arrests sparked off a diplomatic row between and India and Nigeria.

In the aftermath, Goa government formed a special cell to crack down on the foreigners living illegally in the state.