The National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, on Thursday received 129 Nigerians who were stranded in Libya, back to Nigeria.
The returnees were assisted by the European Union sponsored voluntary repatriation through the International Organisation for Migration, IOM.
They were received by the Director General of NEMA, Alhaji Mustapha Habib Ahmed, at the cargo wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Ikeja.
The returnees who departed Tripoli, Libyan capital, at about 2255 hours on Thursday arrived Nigeria aboard Al Buraq Air Boeing 737-800 with Registration number 5A-DMG at 0209 hours.
The profile of the returnees indicates that female adults are 74; female children are four and six female infants.
Also 27 male adults; four male children and 11 male infants made the total of 129 assisted, including three males with mental health related issues, back to the country.
The Director General was represented by the Lagos Territorial Office Coordinator, Alhaji Ibrahim Farinloye, who admonished the returnees on the need to realise that there was no country better than Nigeria.
Said he: “Here you have all the freedom to achieve your potentials; looking for greener pastures in foreign land is no longer a reality; those countries are not better off when you consider the challenges you encounter there and here.
“You are encouraged to be positive ambassadors toward advocacy and sensitisation against irregular migration that leave the youths vulnerable to all sorts of abuses, and death in extreme cases.
“Many are permanently disabled while several others suffer serious mental health challenges following torture.
“There are ample opportunities for all of us to thrive and live happily in virtuous and God-fearing manners in Nigeria without unnecessarily exposing ourselves to undeserved dangers in foreign lands.”
