175 Nigerians voluntarily return from Libya

No fewer than 175 Nigerians have voluntarily returned from Libya, aboard a chartered Nouvelair aircraft with registration number TS-INA. The returnees comprising of 34 males, 122 females, 10 children and nine infants landed at 7.50pm at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

They were brought back by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the Nigerian Embassy in Libya. The returnees were received at the Hajj Camp area of the airport by officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS , the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP and the Police, the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN.

Speaking with journalists, director, search and rescue, NEMA, Air Commodore Paul Ohemu said the agency in collaboration with the IOM was working to stem irregular migration and return stranded Nigerians from Libya. Nigerians should stay back and contribute their quota to the socio-economic development of the country, Ohemu advised.

“There are a lot of things you can do in Nigeria here. You don’t have to travel outside the country in search of greener pastures. My advice to parents is to keep tab on their children and to ensure that they know where their children are going to and not to be deceived by phantom promises.” Ohemu stated that NEMA and some state governments had put various schemes in place to help rehabilitate and reintegrate the returnees into the society.

In his remarks, Zonal Director, NAPTIP, Lagos Zone, Mr. Joseph Famakinwa said the federal government had intensified efforts to curb human trafficking and bring traffickers to book, disclosing that NAPTIP had sent 315 Nigerians to prison for human trafficking with a total conviction of 265.