180 Nigerians Return to Nigeria from Libya Thursday

Chinedu Eze

A batch of 180 Nigerians will Thursday touch down at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos from Libya.

It is also slated that a batch of Nigerians would be deported from Germany early next week.

A source close to Aviation Security (AVSEC), a department under the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), made this known at the Lagos airport Wednesday.

He said the returnees would be assisted back to the country by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), which has been responsible for the repatriation of Nigerians from Libya in recent time.

The returnees would also be received by officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) at the airport.

The returnees are Nigerians who had attempted to travel to Europe through the desert and the Mediterranean Sea and other illegal channels, but were caught in the web of crises that has engulfed the North African countries.

The AVSEC source said that the deportees would return to the country through the Lagos Airport at 8:00 pm through a chartered flight from Europe.

Most of the deportees, it was learnt, are females while no fewer than three of them have medical issues.

No fewer than 2,000 Nigerians have returned from Libya in the past one year and just recently, a batch of 171 Nigerians were returned from Libya for illegal migration.

The returnees comprised 70 female adults including nine pregnant women, 90 male adults, three children and eight infants while eight of them returned to the country with health related issues.