The Federal Government of Nigeria has repatriated 158 irregular Nigerian migrants from Libya. Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed, Nigeria’s Charge d’Affaires to Libya, announced this in a statement on Wednesday.
The evacuees included 77 males, 45 females, 26 children, and 10 infants. Notably, 26 males were arrested during ongoing raids of undocumented foreigners in Libya and were released from the Abu-Salim Detention Centre in Tripoli.
Ambassador Mohammed stated, “So far, 1,776 stranded Nigerians have returned home.” He added that the repatriation was a collaborative effort between the Nigerian Mission in Libya and Libyan authorities under the International Organisation for Migration’s Voluntary Humanitarian Repatriation program.
“This marks the 12th evacuation exercise carried out by the Nigerian Mission in Libya this year,” Mohammed noted. The latest exercise follows the repatriation of 142 irregular Nigerian migrants from Sabha, Libya, on July 19. According to him, some of these migrants were rescued from the Mediterranean Sea by the Libyan Coastal Guards, while others were arrested on charges such as prostitution, illegal entry, and lack of proper documentation.
“Nigerians living in Libya, from many indications, already have damaged reputations due to the alleged nefarious activities of some criminal elements among them,” he explained. “Some have been fingered in the commitment of crimes such as kidnapping for ransom, drug peddling, prostitution, sale of alcohol as well as cultism and human trafficking with their Libyan collaborators, among others.”
He urged Nigerians to avoid irregular migration, noting that there had been increasing and coordinated raids of illegal migrants across Libyan cities.
“These are likely going to continue as Libyan authorities consider the influx of illegal migrants in the country a national security issue and have vowed to employ all legal means to stop the menace,” He stated.
