File photo: Libya returnees
As the nation celebrates her 59th independence anniversary, the
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) received another batch of
161 stranded Nigerian returnees from Libya.
Alhaji Idris Muhammed, the Coordinator, NEMA Lagos Territorial Office,
confirmed the development to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in
Lagos.
Muhammed said the Nigerians arrived at the Cargo Wing of Murtala
Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, at about 5.35 a.m. on Tuesday.
He said the returnees were brought back aboard an Al Buraq Air aircraft
with registration number 5A-DMG from Misrata City, a 200-kilometer
distance from Tripoli, Libya.
He added that the returnees were assisted home by the International
Organisation for Migration and the European Union under the Assisted
Voluntary Returnees Programme which started in April 2017.
Muhammed said the stranded Nigerians were received on behalf of the
Federal Government by NEMA and other agencies, including the Edo State
Task Force Against Human Trafficking and the Nigeria Immigration
Service.
He said “at the end of profiling of the returnees, there were 48
female adults, one female child and seven female infants, 93 male
adults, five male children and seven male infants, totaling 161.”
The coordinator said three male adults who had medical issues were
immediately evacuated to the hospital for medical treatment. (NAN)