‘Libya deported 975 Nigerians in five weeks’

The National Emergency Management Agency on Monday received 149 stranded Nigerians from Libya, with the assistance of the International Organisation for Migration.

According to NEMA, the 149 persons bring the total number of stranded Nigerians brought back to the country to 975 in the last five weeks.

The 29 adult females, 115 adult males and five children, arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport at 7.35pm.

The agency’s Director-General, Mustapha Maihajja, said the Edo State Government had been at the forefront of the fight against the menace of illegal migration of youths in various ways, including reintegration of the returnees by empowering them to utilise their acquired skills and sending those willing to go back to school.

Maihajja, who was represented by the South-West Zonal Coordinator of the agency, Suleiman Yakubu, at the airport, particularly praised the advocacy, sensitisation and enlightenment programmes created to discourage parents, guardians and youths from embarking on the deadly journey with the setting up of a special task force with a mandate to tackle the problem.

Maihajja said the state should not be stigmatised as many of the returnees were also from some south-western states and other parts of the country.

“Parents should discourage their children from travelling out of the country as the only option to get better life,” he said.