FG receives 180 migrants from Libya

The Federal Government on Wednesday facilitated the reception of 180 Nigerian migrants who were stranded in Libya.

The reception exercise took place at the Cargo Terminal of Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos State.

The humanitarian return was arranged by the Nigerian Mission in Tripoli in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

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Representing the Federal Commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Hon. Aliyu Tijani Ahmed, the Southwest Zonal Coordinator, Mr. Alexander Oturu, assured that the returnees would be integrated into various government programmes, as well as the reintegration initiatives of the UN Migration Agency, IOM.

The migrants were transported to the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) camp, where the NCFRMI and IOM have a tripartite agreement to provide temporary shelter for them before they receive onward transportation allowances to help them reach their final destinations.

According to Mr. Oturu, the returnees comprised 76 males, 92 females, 8 children, and 4 infants, who arrived aboard an IOM-chartered flight from Libya.

The Edo State Migration Agency, led by its Director General, Hon. Lucky Agazuma, also attended the reception to facilitate the free transportation of Edo State indigenes to Benin City, the state capital.

Officers from the NCFRMI and the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) profiled the migrants, while officials from Port Health, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Federal Ministry of Labour (Migrants Resource Centre), LASEMA, Child Protection Network, and Web of Hearts Foundation were also present to provide assistance.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE