As the international community continues to expose and condemn the illegal human slave trading and other activities in Libya, another set of Nigerians have arrived after being evacuated from the North African nation.
File photo: Some evacuated Nigerians living in Libya arriving the country (Image: PT/NAN)
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has received 149 Nigerians who voluntarily returned from Libya.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the returnees arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Thursday, aboard a chartered flight operated by Buraq Airline with registration number 5A-DMG.
The aircraft landed at about 10:45 p.m. at the Cargo Wing of the airport.
The returnees comprised of 107 male adults, 37 female adults including a medical case, four female children and one female infant.
Abraham Tamrat, the programme manager of International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Lagos, handed the returnees over to Yakubu Suleiman, the South West Zonal Coordinator of NEMA.
Mr. Suleiman thanked the IOM and the European Union (EU) for facilitating the repatriation of the Nigerians who had been stranded en route from Libya to Europe.
He admonished the returnees to shun the urge of seeking greener pastures outside the country.
He said all nations in the world were facing various challenges as a result of global economic meltdown.
“Nigeria has more than enough resources to cater for our needs but it is left for every one of us to tap from any of these abundant resources,” Mr. Suleiman said.
He said both the Federal and state governments had lots of incentives for their rehabilitation and reintegration to complement the efforts of EU and IOM.
Also speaking, Tamat said the IOM had assisted over 7,000 Nigerians back from Libya under the voluntary return assistance programme and would continue to assist persons who indicate interest to return.
NAN reports that the returnees were also received by officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigeria Police.
The telecommunications company, Airtel, in collaboration with the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Diaspora and Foreign Affairs, also gave the returnees free mobile cellphones and sim cards to facilitate their reintegration.
(NAN)