150 Nigerians Return from Libya

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) yesterday received 150 Nigerians who voluntarily returned from Libya at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

They were brought back on their expression of interest to return to Nigeria through the assistance of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the European Union.

The Boeing B737-800 aircraft with registration number: 6A-DMG, landed at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at about 9.15p.m.

They comprised 13 female adults and one teenage girl while the male adults were 133, two teenage boys and one baby boy.

The returnees were received by the South-west Zonal coordinator of NEMA, Alhaji Suleiman Yakubu .

Also on ground to welcome the returnees back home were officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the police.

President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered for the evacuation of Nigerians from Libya following reports that they were being sold as slaves in the country for about $400.

It was gathered that the federal government would in the next few weeks intensify efforts towards bringing them back while the ongoing repatriation by the IOM and the EU is expected to also continue.