172 Nigerian migrants, including 6 women, repatriated from Libya (Photos)
The repatriation done in close cooperation with Libyan authorities,
Nigeria’s Embassy in Tripoli and the IOM office in Nigeria – was on
board a charter flight departing Tripoli’s Mitiga Airport and arriving
in Lagos in the morning.
Almost all the migrants traveling on this charter were detained as
they were trying to cross to Europe. Despite ending their journey of
hope inside detention centres, these migrants consider themselves lucky
to have escaped death on the Mediterranean, which this year has taken
the lives of 97 migrants and refugees on the route linking Libya to
Italy.
The funds for this charter were provided by the European Union and
the Italian Ministry of Interior, under the project called Prevention
and Management of Irregular Migration Flows from the Sahara Desert to
the Mediterranean Sea.
The stories were similar in the light of the current unstable
situation in Libya, which caused migrants many physical and
psychological problems.
The
repatriated Nigerians were received and screened by various agencies
such as Nigeria Immigration Services, Police and the National Agency for
Protection and trafficking in Persons(NAPTIP)
The
Public Relations Officer, Nigeria Immigration Service, Mr Ekpedeme King
who confirmed the deportation said the Nigerians were returned home for
overstaying their visas, among other immigration offences.
"What
I can tell you is that some Nigerians were deported today for
immigration offences. Most of those brought overstayed in Libya" said
King.
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