Aviation

Another Batch of 171 Stranded Nigerians in Libya Arrive MMIA

One of the brutalised returnees from libya on arrival at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos on Tuesday. Photo Lamidi Bamidele
One of the brutalised returnees from libya on arrival at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos on Tuesday. Photo Lamidi Bamidele
About 171 Nigerians who were stranded in Libya voluntarily returned to Nigeria yesterday.
 
They heaved a sigh of relief when the aircraft that brought them landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on Tuesday evening.
 
The returnees comprised of 112 females and 59 males; the females included 109 adults, two children and one infant while the males comprised 49 adults, five children and five infants.
 
THISDAY learnt that the Nigerians voluntarily returned home with the assistance of International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Federal Government, just like the161 Nigerians who voluntarily returned last week.
 
They arrived at the cargo terminal of the airport aboard a chartered aircraft and on hand to receive them were the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa alongside officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), among others.
 
Some of the returnees wept uncontrollably as they arrived, ventilating their grief as they recalled the awful experience they went through in the North African country that has witnessed internecine civil war since the death of the late leader Muamar Gadafi.
 
Dabiri-Erewa who spoke with newsmen at the Hajj camp where the returnees were profiled alerted Nigerians of human trafficking syndicates that specialize in luring young Nigerians to Europe and warned irregular migrants that are still in Libya to return home, saying irregular migration to the North African country attracts death.
 
According to her, the returnees should not be stigmatized as they went in search of better lives.
 
Director of Search and Rescue, NEMA, Air Commodore Salisu Mohammed said NEMA had taken responsibility for their rehabilitation with their families.
 
Also representatives of states like Edo and Delta, among others were on ground to receive their indigenes.
Avatar

Aviation Media

About Author

Aviation Media Africa is a media platform that publishes the latest news and insights in aviation, maritime, and transport across Africa.

You may also like

Aviation

Fadugba: Nigeria has Unstable Regulatory Environment

  • August 1, 2015
The CEO of African Aviation Services Limited and former Director General, African Airlines Association (AFRAA), Nick Fadugba said that for
Aviation

Interview with Chris Aligbe :FG Should Grant Aviation Infant Industry Status

  • October 1, 2015
Industry consultant and CEO of Belujane Konsult, Chris Aligbe appraises the kind of minister the aviation industry needs as well