Nigeria said on Wednesday it would deport five Chinese businessmen on suspicion of illegally importing textiles to Kano, the country's second-largest city.
"The Chinese businessmen behind the massive illegal importation of textiles to Kano are to be deported from Nigeria," a joint statement from the Nigeria customs service and immigration service said.
"Five Chinese nationals were involved in the operation of illegal warehouses in Kano, where prohibited textile materials worth billions of naira were uncovered by customs anti-smuggling operatives."
The investigation by the Nigeria -Immigration Service revealed that these Chinese nationals, aged 26 to 35, do not possess valid travel documents to reside and engage in any business in Nigeria.
Officials said 75 warehouses had been shut where some 4.2 billion naira ($21 -million) worth of textiles were kept, -according to AFP.
The Embassy of Nigeria to China said they were not aware of the case and could not comment on this issue when reached by the Global Times.
In Nigeria, the engagement in -retail sales is prohibited to foreigners, in a move to "protect local medium and small -companies," said He Wenping, a -researcher from the Institute of West Asian and -African Studies of the Chinese -Academy of Social Sciences.
"Chinese have more channels to -import cheaper goods than local traders," He said, before adding, "Chinese people also work longer hours than the locals and these -factors can pose a threat to local -companies."
Local traders are complaining that -imported Chinese-made commodities are undercutting local goods.
In May 2012, -Nigeria arrested and -deported 45 Chinese over retail trading -after repeated complaints.
