On Tuesday, the Nigerian Mission in Libya facilitated the release of forty Nigerian irregular migrants from Libya’s Bir Al-Ghanam detention facility.
Ambassador Kabiru Musa, Charge D’Affaires En Titre of the Nigerian Mission in Libya, disclosed this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
According to Musa, the Mission will continue to care for the released Nigerian nationals until they are repatriated.
Musa stated that he warned them to return home and never to embark on such a perilous journey again, as well as to warn their compatriots back home about the dangers of irregular migration.
On Tuesday, June 27, 2023, the mission in its continuous consular assistance to Nigerians in Libya secured the release of forty irregular migrants who were arrested for immigration offences and detained by Libyan immigration authorities for almost two months.
Among the arrested Nigerians are 34 females and six males who were detained at Bir Al-Ghanam detention facility that is about 150 miles away from Tripoli, the capital city.
It was discovered that most of them were lured into travelling to Libya for greener pasture by their would-be traffickers but they ended up under exploitation and enforced labour.
On arrival at the embassy, we received them and admonished them on the need to return home with a promise never to embark on such a deadly journey through the desert again.
I also encouraged them to feel at home and be willing to give information about their traffickers and agents in Nigeria as well as in Libya so that they can be arrested and punished for their crime against humanity.
In the meantime, the mission will continue to cater for their needs including feeding, accommodation, clothing and medicals until they can be repatriated home through the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Musa said.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the federal government has been working with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and Libyan authorities to end the threat of irregular migration.
The federal government has also pledged to ensure that no Nigerians are left stranded in Libya, with several evacuation exercises planned in collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration to repatriate stranded Nigerians.
Discussion about this post