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United Nations help Evacuate 326 ‘Stranded’ Nigerians from Libya
The International Office for Migration (IOM), a United Nations body has helped in repatriating 326 “stranded” Nigerians, including about a dozen children from Libya.
They were brought back home from Libya this weekend, an official statement said on Sunday.
They arrived in Lagos international airport in two batches. Airport officials said that some of them had been tortured or imprisoned by the new government in Tripoli before they were evacuated.
“At the weekend, 326 stranded Nigerians were evacuated to the country from Libya through the effort of International Office for Migration (IOM), a United Nations body,” the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said.
It is unclear if they were deported.
Libyan authorities have in the past years expelled thousands of Nigerian illegal immigrants and those with criminal records.
These Nigerians must have gone through quite an ordeal during the crisis period and power tussle in Libya. During that period, there were calls for help from Nigerians stranded in Libya
‘Airport officials said that some of them had been tortured or imprisoned by the new government in Tripoli before they were evacuated’
It reminds me of this video I watched some time ago of a terrified group of Nigerian men pleading their innocence in front of anti-Gadhafi forces. The sad thing about their story is that they were trapped in Libya in an attempt to get to Italy for a better life. The evident fear written on their faces, seeing grown men cry for their lives was really chilling. As dangerous as the tales are of what Nigerians go through while passing through Libya in search of these ‘greener pastures’, more and more people still take such dangerous routes.
I guess its welcome back home for them and thanks to the International Office for Migration who helped in evacuating them from Libya.
What do you think about think about the risk Nigerians face while trying to get to European countries by road through Libya? Is it really worth it?
News Source: Vanguard
