IOM Repatriates 12, 574 Nigerians from Libya in 2 Years

IOM Repatriates 12, 574 Nigerians from Libya in 2 Years

By Chinedu Eze

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has facilitated the repatriation of about 12, 574 since the past two years.

This was disclosed when the Nigeria Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) received another batch of 174 stranded Nigerians from Libya on Thursday night.

The Coordinator, of NEMA’s Lagos Territorial Office, Mallam Idris Muhammed who received the newly repatriated Assisted Voluntary Returnees disclosed that with this batch, the total number of stranded Nigerians repatriated back from Libya makes it 12,574.

In addition, Mallam Muhammed revealed that over 4,900 of the returnees had been trained on various skill acquisition and empowerment training by IOM through special funding facilitated by the European Union.

NEMA also disclosed that most of them had set up various businesses in their choice of occupation and explained that the Thursday this week flight was the 64th since the Programme of Assisted Voluntary Returnees initiated by EU but being implemented by IOM started in April, 2017.

The returnees were brought back aboard Al Buraq Airline in Boeing 737-800 aircraft with flight number UZ 389-390 and registration number 5A-DMG from Sebha City and arrived Cargo Wing of MMIA, Ikeja, Nigeria at about 9:45 pm.

Details on the new returnees indicated that there were 62 adult females, 11 female children and 11 female infants made the total of 84 females while the males were composed of 74 male adults, 12 male children and 15 male infants making a total of 90 males.

While addressing the returnees on arrival, the Coordinator assured them that those that had been brought earlier showed federal government readiness to continue supporting and collaborating with other partners in providing enabling environment for the realisation of potential of all the youths in the country.

He empahsised that government would continue to strengthen her support to state and local government authorities in rehabilitating the returnees into their communities.

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