NEMA receives 173 Nigerian returnees from Libya

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), on Tuesday, received 173 stranded Nigerians from war-torn Libya.

The returnees, who arrived the country through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in two different flights were received by the coordinator, Lagos territorial office, Alhaji Idris Abubakar Muhammed at the cargo wing of the Lagos airport Tuesday morning.

A chartered aircraft belonging to Al Buraq air with registration number 5A-DMG-MRA, which touched down at 4.52 am brought 162 Nigerians from Misrata while a commercial aircraft which brought in another 11 returnees from Benghazi landed at the Lagos airport by 5.15 am.

Profiling of the returnees indicated that they were 106 adult males, 52 adult females, four female children, two male children, four female infants, and five male infants.

Twenty-one of the returnees had medical issues.

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One of the returnees, 23-year-old Miss Areni Aishat from Ogun State, narrated how she was deceived with the promise of travelling to New York in the United States with the opportunity to practice catering.

Areni who said she just graduated as a catering apprentice then, explained how her aunt told her that she could help her to travel to America where she can  work better and promised to help pay for her transportation which she will subsequently refund when she starts working there.

Her words: “I did not know that she was deceiving me until we left and embarked on a long journey. It was my mates that revealed to me that it was Libya they were heading when she started making trouble that it was the USA that she was promised.”

According to Areni, when she got to Libya she was told that there was nothing like catering job except to be a house girl or be sold out to connection house, that is, the prostitution network. She said she worked for one year and three months but paid her trafficker five months salaries of 99,000 per month.

“I decided to return home because the nature of the work is not ideal for a human being.

“On those who are still thinking of travelling to Libya, Libya is dangerous, it is either you are kidnapped, killed, raped, robbed or bombing here and there. Nigerians are not safe there.”

Areni who stated that she was tired of staying in Libya and revealed how she was able to join this batch back to Nigeria, declared; ” I was helped back to the country when my mother went to NAPTIP office to complain and a phone number of a staff of Nigerian embassy was sent to me and it was the embassy staff that facilitated my return to the country. I am grateful to the Nigeria government for helping me back to the country.”