Senate seeks UN probe of 9 Nigerians killed in Libya
By Tunde Opalana, Abuja
The Senate has called on the United Nations (UN) to investigate the killing of nine Nigerians which occurred during a double air strikes on a detention centre outside Tripoli, the Libyan capital.
Senate made the call following the adoption of a motion sponsored by Senator Barau Jibrin (Kano North) and 36 other senators on the death of the nine Nigerian migrants in Libya.
Sen. Jibrin while presenting the motion said the death of the nine Nigerians occurred following the attack which was carried out on the hapless migrant civilians.
He said the death toll from the air strike on the detention centre has been reviewed to 53 from 44 while more bodies were still being pulled out of the rubble, indicating that the count has not stopped.
The senator said that reports indicate that refuges and migrants were directly fired by guards as they tried to escape which resulted in the death of nine Nigerians, adding that the strike was the second time that the Tajore detention centre which houses around 600 migrants has been hit during the ongoing conflict in Libya.
He said that the detention of migrants from Nigeria and other Sub-Saharan African countries to Europe was not the answer to the protection of people on the move, asserting that alternative and sustainable solutions must be developed to protect the vulnerable migrants.
According to him, the air strike on migrants’ detention centre that led to the killing of Nigerians has sparked international outcry, just as senators who supported the motion, condemned the killing of the migrants in its entirety.
Consequently, the Senate resolved to call on the UN to investigate the killing, find out the perpetrators and bring them to justice. Also, it urged the Libyan government to immediately release the refuges and migrants from detention centres and relocate them to safe shelters.
The Senate further commended the federal government for its effort on the reparation of Nigerian migrants from Libya and urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to continue the repatriation of the remaining Nigerian citizens in Libyan detention camps.
