Steer clear of Libya, would-be Nigerian migrants warned

Nigerians planning to migrate to Europe through North Africa especially Libya and other irregular routes have been advised to reconsider their journey.

The Migration Enlightenment Project Nigeria (MEPN), a group carrying out an information campaign termed ‘Look before you Leave!’ to promote an increased public awareness of the risks and dangers of irregular migration, issued the warning in a statement emailed to Daily Trust yesterday.

MEPN was conceived by the African-German Information Center, Hamburg, and The African Courier Verlag, Berlin, and is being implemented in co-operation with the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Germany and the support of Germany’s Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The advisory, it was learnt, was informed by the exodus of Nigerians into Libya with the intention of crossing the Mediterranean Sea to get to Europe.

This is happening despite the massive repatriation of Nigerians from Libya with over 2,000 already evacuated since last year.

Reports say between 800,000 and 1 million migrants are in Libya waiting to make the dangerous move across the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe.

“Migrants leaving for Libya now would be toying with their lives. The illegal route to Europe is dangerous enough but it has now become more lethal,” the group said.

The statement signed by CoProject Director (MEPN) and Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe (NIDOE) group, Kenneth Gbandi and Co-Project Director (MEPN), Femi Awoniyi, said various developments had curtailed the prospects of crossing the Mediterranean by would-be migrants. “Libya’s UN-backed Government of National Unity issued a directive in August 2017 compelling NGO rescue ships to seek official permission before entering Libya’s waters to carry out rescue operations. This means less search-and-rescue missions for capsized boats and increasing fatalities among those crossing the Mediterranean on these boats,” the statement said.