The Libyan government, yesterday, brought back about 161 Nigerians who had migrated to the country illegally.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), which facilitated the return of the Nigerians explained to newsmen the returnees “had voluntarily agreed to be brought back to Nigeria.”
“No one deported them; they just agreed voluntarily to return to Nigeria based on the unfriendly conditions they found themselves in Libya,” said head of IOM Office in Lagos, Mr. Nahashan Thuo. “We brought them back in liaison with the Nigerian Embassy in Libya, and we will do everything possible to reunite them with their families. We are giving each of them 50 pounds which would be converted to naira to assist them financially,” he added.
The IOM said they had expected 162 persons, but 161 eventually turned up. The returnees comprised 60 males and 101 females, among them children and infants. Thuo explained that three of the returnees had health challenges, with one having a fractured bone and having to be taken to hospital for further treatment.
