Reports reaching the desk of Africa Today News, New York has it that no fewer than 126 Nigerians who were stranded in Libya were on Friday morning received back to Nigeria by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
The citizens were brought back with the assistance of International Organisation for Migration (IOM) via a voluntary repatriation programme which has been on for a while.
This was confirmed to newsmen by Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye who is the acting NEMA Coordinator in Lagos, when he spoke to re[prters.
Farinloye said the Nigerians were received at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
The returnees arrived aboard a Boeing 700-787 Al Buraq Air with registration number 5A-DMG.
They include 46 male adults, 62 female adults, two male and six female children, as well as four female and six male infants.
Farinloye said many were being deceived with promises of relocation assistance to Iraq, Egypt, Dubai in UAE, etc., but end up in connection houses in Libya.
‘We admonish the returnees on the need to realise that there’s no country better than Nigeria”, the official noted.
‘There are ample opportunities for all of us to thrive and live happily in virtuous and God fearing manners in Nigeria without unnecessarily exposing ourselves to undeserved dangers in foreign lands.’
The officials of Nigeria Immigration Service, Refugee Commission, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria and Police also received the citizens.
Three months ago, Africa Today News, New York had reported that a batch of 131 Nigerians who were repatriated from Libya as illegal migrants had arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
Those who were returned included are 31 male adults, 72 female adults, 11 boys, six girls, four female infants and seven male infants were brought back to the country. He said the IOM has so far brought 1,052 Nigerians from Libya this year.