A few hours after 144 Nigerians voluntarily returned from Libya, another aircraft carrying 257 of their compatriots on Wednesday landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
The spokesperson for the Lagos Airport Police Command, Mr Joseph Alabi, confirmed this in an interview in Lagos.
Alabi said the returnees arrived aboard a Libyan Airlines aircraft at the Cargo Wing of the airport at about 1.30 a.m.
He said they were assisted back to Nigeria by the International Organisation for Migration ( IOM ) and the European Union ( EU ) after being stranded in the volatile North African country enroute Europe.
Alabi said
“We received another batch of Nigerians early this morning from Libya.
“They comprised of 65 adult females, 179 adult males, seven children and six infants.”
He also confirmed that four of the returnees had medical cases and were promptly taken away on an ambulance for treatment.
Report says another set of 144 Nigerians had arrived on Tuesday at about 6.45 p.m. aboard a chartered Buraq Airlines aircraft with registration number 5A-DMG.
The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement signed by the Spokesperson, Mr. Tiwatope Elias-Fatile on Tuesday, said the country’s embassy in Libya had been visiting detention camps to identify Nigerians for registration.
The ministry stated that those registered were issued Emergency Travel Certificates.
The ministry also explained that the embassy, in collaboration with the IOM, repatriates 250 migrants weekly and had returned 3,000 of them so far.
“From the 2,778 registered Nigerians who are still in detention camps, another set of 250 Nigerian migrants will be arriving on Tuesday December 5 via the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos, at 7.00pm, to be received by NEMA officials.
“The Embassy, in collaboration with the IOM, repatriates 250 Nigerian migrants by flight to Lagos weekly – each flight can accommodate only 250 passengers.
“The repatriation is a continuous exercise and the Embassy routinely issues the requisite travel documents to the migrants.
“The Embassy will continue to engage the legitimate government in Libya and other stakeholders in addressing the plight of Nigerian migrants in that country.”
The ministry further said the Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, had invited the Nigerian Embassy’s Head of Mission, Mr. Iliya Fachano, to Abuja for consultations.
“He is in Abuja already and during the period of the consultations, arrangements have been made for him to address press conferences on the issue.
NAN
Emeh Achanga,the CEO of the Miss Petite Nigeria Brand is a lawyer turned blogger. She is very passionate about writing, with several publications and awards to her credit .She is currently working on publishing a collection of short stories which are basically a memoir about her exciting true experiences.
