The Nigerian Embassy in Libya in conjunction with another international organization has facilitated the repatriation of 162 stranded Nigerians back to their home country.
The deportees arriving at the airport in Lagos yesterday
162 Nigerians who were stranded in the turbulent Libya were yesterday received by governmental organizations at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja Lagos.
The returnees made up of 132 men, 27 women and three children were conveyed in a Chadames Air aircraft marked 5A WAT according to a report by the DailyTrust. International Organization for Migration (IOM) reportedly assisted the Nigerian Embassy in Libya to ensure the safe return of the migrants to Nigeria.
This is the first batch of the deportees from the North African countries with others to follow very soon.
Forty-one Nigerians were recently deported from the same country for immigration related offences. The returnees were received at the airport by officials from the Port Health Services, Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP).
Three of the returnees were ill, with two brought in a stretcher and ferried into a waiting ambulance provided by NEMA. IOM’s Operations Assistant, Mr. Juma Ben Hassan disclosed that one of the male returnees had a motor accident while the one was a victim of fire disaster.
NEMA officials took the returnees for profiling before sending them to their respective states to reunite with their families. Nigerians have over the years fled to Libya as a stop-over en route European countries in the quest for better economic opportunities.