The Nigerian Government has warmly received 137 Nigerian migrants who were repatriated from Libya, a process facilitated by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The reception event occurred at the Cargo terminal of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos State, located in the southwestern region of Nigeria.
His powerful words exemplify the resilience and unwavering spirit of 137 migrants who have voluntarily chosen to return to Nigeria from Libya on 28 August 2023 on a charter flight facilitated by IOM with support of @EUinNigeria pic.twitter.com/NvsSeOymIq
— IOM Nigeria (@IOM_Nigeria) August 29, 2023
Mr. Alexander Oturu, the Southwest Zonal Coordinator of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), praised the effective cooperation among different governmental and non-governmental entities engaged in the repatriation operation.
He further stated that the returnees will be integrated into the programmes of the Commission and other reintegration actors.
while the second flight brought 137 returnees and arrived today. These returnees, most of whom were women, had endured distressing experiences during their time in detention camps in troubled northern Africa. They expressed that they wouldn’t wish such experiences on anybody. pic.twitter.com/PAZ7eFcE1n
— NEMA Nigeria (@nemanigeria) August 28, 2023
The migrants were conveyed to the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, camp where the NCFRMI and IOM have a tripartite agreement to provide temporary shelter for the returnees before they are provided with onward transportation allowance to enable them get to to their final destinations.
According to him, the returned migrants were made up of 83 males, 51 females, 1 unaccompanied migrant child and 2 infants
Officers from the NCFRMI and the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) profiled the migrants and officers from Port Health, FAAN, Federal Ministry of Labour (Migrants Resource Centre), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Child Protection Network and Web of Hearts Foundation were also in attendance to assist.
This is the second such humanitarian return from Libya in the space of two weeks, you may recall that on Monday 21st August 2023, 161 Nigerian migrants were returned from Libya in a similar coordinated reception exercise.
