The return of these Nigerians was facilitated under the FG-IOM Voluntary Repatriation Exercise and they arrived at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos on Tuesday evening. This is the third time the FG and IOM have collaborated on an exercise of this nature in 2023, having successfully repatriated nearly 500 Nigerians from Libya already.
Ambassador Kabiru Musa, Charge D’affaires en titre of the Nigerian Mission in Libya, noted that Libya is a transit country for irregular migrants to Western and other parts of the world and that when these migrants can no longer continue their journey to their expected destination, they become stranded and vulnerable to exploitation, including forced labour and prostitution. The federal government, he stated, is determined to protect the rights of these migrants and will continue to facilitate their safe and voluntary return home.
“We evacuated almost 4,000 stranded Nigerians from Libya in 2022 and we hope to surpass that number this year,” Musa said. He went on to express appreciation for the support and cooperation of the Federal Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and IOM in facilitating the exercise, as well as the Libyan authority for their assistance.
The successful evacuation of these Nigerians is a testament to the commitment of the FG and IOM to protecting the rights of stranded migrants and ensuring their safe return home.