No fewer than 13, 407 Nigerians stranded in Libya have been brought back home since April 2017.
The National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, made this known on Thursday when it received a fresh batch of 159 stranded Nigerians back home from Libya.
The return of the Nigerians was with the support of the International Organisation for Migration, IOM, and the European Union, EU.
The latest batch brought home was received by the Director General of NEMA, Engr. Yinusa Maihajja, who was represented by the Director of Special Duties, NEMA, Alhaji Nura Aliyu Bappa, at the Cargo Wing of Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja.
The returnees arrived aboard Al Buraq Airline Boeing 737-656 with flight number WZ 189/198 and registration number 5A-DMG at about 7:20 p. m. on Wednesday.
Of the returnees so far, no fewer than 6,950 of them had been assisted in undergoing trainings in various business skills and reintegrated to the society fully.
Speaking on the latest batch, the Director General who revealed that after profiling of the new returnees, there were 33 female adults, two female children and five female infants.
He further stated that 115 male adults, four male children and seven male infants stranded were brought back.
Engr. Maihajja disclosed that among the women were 12 nursing mothers and four pregnant women.
While welcoming them, he implored them to look at their experiences as positive turning point to forge ahead with their lives.
His words: “It is normal for humans to seek for better life but this your sojourn has turned bad. You should not let the experiences over there dampen your bright future. It is normal for human beings to face challenges but the way we handle or treat the challenges will determine the outcome. If you put these experiences in the dustbins of the past, with determination you will be successful in your new endearvours. I assure you, success awaits everyone of you.”
The Programme Coordinator, IOM, Mr Abraham Tamrat, has revealed that based on the recent research conducted, there has been continuous downward reduction of irregular migrations to unsuitable environments.
He revealed that the efforts of international partners and national agencies in sensitisation and awareness creation on the menace could be attributed to the decrease in the number of irregular migrants.
He promised that focus would continue to be on religious and community-based organisations in the country to achieve near zero irregular migrations.
Federal agencies that joined in the exercise are NAPTIP, Immigration Services, Police and refugee commission.
