The federal government has received 180 stranded Nigerians from Libya, whose return was facilitated by the Nigerian mission in Tripoli and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The returnees were received at the Cargo terminal of the Murtala Mohamed International Airport, in Lagos on Wednesday night.
The returnees comprised 76 males, 92 females, eight children and four infants.
The gederal Commissioner of the National Commission For Refugees Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Tijani Ahmed, stated that in line with Mr President’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the returnees would be integrated into various government programmes, as well as the reintegration programmes of the UN Migration Agency, IOM.
Ahmed, who was represented by the Southwest Zonal Coordinator, Mr. Alexander Oturu stated that the migrants were conveyed to the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency camp where the NCFRMI and IOM have a tripartite agreement to provide temporary shelter for the returnees before they are provided with onward transportation allowance to enable them get to their final destination.
According to a statement by Mr Oturu, the Edo State Migration Agency, led by the Director General, Hon Lucky Agazuma, also attended the reception to convey Edo State indigenes free of charge to Benin, the Edo State.
Officers from the NCFRMI and the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) profiled the migrants, while officers from Port Health, FAAN, Federal Ministry of Labour (Migrants Resource Centre), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Child Protection Network and Web of Hearts Foundation were in attendance to assist.
