The Libyan government, yesterday, brought back about 161 Nigerians who had migrated to the country illegally.
The International Organisation for
Migration (IOM), which facilitated the return of the Nigerians explained
to newsmen the returnees “had voluntarily agreed to be brought back to
Nigeria.”
“No one deported them; they just agreed
voluntarily to
return to Nigeria based on the unfriendly conditions they
found themselves in Libya,” said head of IOM Office in Lagos, Mr.
Nahashan Thuo. “We brought them back in liaison with the Nigerian
Embassy in Libya, and we will do everything possible to reunite them
with their families. We are giving each of them 50 pounds which would be
converted to naira to assist them financially,” he added.
The IOM said they had expected 162
persons, but 161 eventually turned up. The returnees comprised 60 males
and 101 females, among them children and infants. Thuo explained that
three of the returnees had health challenges, with one having a
fractured bone and having to be taken to hospital for further treatment.
Daily Sun discovered that some of the
returnees were families comprising parents and children as well as
pregnant women. Interestingly, the majority were in high spirit and
excited to return to Nigeria.
However, before they were allowed to
enter the country, they were first profiled by officials of the Nigerian
Immigration Service (NIS) to ascertain that there were, indeed,
Nigerian citizens. Food and water were immediately provided for them at
the Hajj/Cargo section of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport,
Lagos, where they arrived aboard a chartered Nouvel Air aircraft.
Director of Search and Rescue for the
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr. Onimode Bandele, who
briefed newsmen, said the Federal Government had sent them to “welcome
the returnees and to ensure they were well taken care of.”
“They are first Nigerian citizens, and we
are here on behalf of the federal government to ensure they don’t feel
bad or neglected. The government of Edo State, where most of them come
from, also came here to receive them. As a government, we had to do
everything to bring them back safely because of the hostility in Libya;
and we are glad they are back home safely,” he added. Daily Sun spoke
to three of the returnees and they described their experiences as
horrible.
“We went through hell in Libya, but I am happy to be back home alive,” said Innocent Udejbe.
“I went to Libya to work. I was working
in a bakery and I was well paid. But they caught me and took me to their
detention camp and said I was an illegal immigrant. I spent just six
months there,” he added.
Another returnee, Maureen said she was
plating hair in a saloon when Libyan Immigration officials stormed the
place and arrested her and took her to the detention centre where she
spent over a month.
“I came back empty, all the money I
worked for they didn’t allow me to take back anything, but I am happy to
be back alive. IOM gave me clothes to wear and about N19,600,” Maureen
said. Charles Iyen, another returnee said, “government should do
something to bring back more Nigerians in detention camps in Libya.
“Some of us are dead. We don’t eat well
in the deportation camp and they would flog us at night. They said they
didn’t want blacks in their country, anymore,” said Iyen.
(The Sun NG)
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