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Tag: Libya

  • NIDCOM announces return of stranded Nigerians in Libya

    NIDCOM announces return of stranded Nigerians in Libya

    The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission has officially announced the return of 118 Nigerians who were stranded in Libya.

    NIDCOM made this known in a post on Twitter.

    According to the organization, the returnees who arrived in Abuja in the early hours of Wednesday include 51 males, 41 females, 17 children, and nine infants.

     

    The Commission said, “118 Returnees ( 51 Males, 41 Females, 17 Children, and nine Infants ) Stranded Nigerians in Libya just arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at about 1.30am local time today 17th March 2021 via Buraq Air.

    “The returnees will be quarantined at the Federal Capital Territory Hajj camp for 14 days in line with the new COVID-19 protocols by the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19.”

     

    NIDCOM boss, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, thanked all those who made their return to Nigeria possible, She urged Nigerians to avoid going on journeys which she described as deadly and illegal.

    She tweeted, “We@nidcom_gov thank the @IOM_Nigeria @UNmigration for making this happen. Again, we appeal to Nigerians to avoid these deadly, illegal journeys.”
  • Human trafficking: How I was lured to Libya for prostitution — Victim

    Human trafficking: How I was lured to Libya for prostitution — Victim

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has demanded a public apology from Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe over his negative utterances against Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi.

     

    Mr Yekini Nabena, APC Acting Deputy National Publicity Secretary made the demand in a statement on Monday in Abuja, while reacting to the development.

     

    Abaribe is the Minority Leader of the Senate and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senator representing Abia-South Senatorial District.

     

    Nabena said a legal action would be taken against the senator if he failed to publicly apologise to the governor, saying that his utterances against the governor were ”false, irresponsible and malicious.”

     

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Abaribe and Sen. Smart Adeyemi (APC Kogi) had last week exchanged unfriendly banters on the floor of the senate over an alleged social media post.

     

    The two senators were at loggerheads when a motion on urgent need for the restoration and revalidation of the Safe School Initiative was debated.

     

    The APC spokesman said “And on this note, we insist that he must publicly withdraw the false statements made by him, or be prepared to face the full brunt of the law.

     

    “Let us at this point say unequivocally that distinguished Sen. Smart Adeyemi is a high ranking senator with a formidable track record and antecedents to show for it.

     

    “Prior to coming to the senate, he was a renowned journalist who served as the President of The Nigerian Union of Journalists for two terms.”

     

    Nabena said Adeyemi was popularly known for his interest in the protection of the masses and would not support a governor who was not performing well as alleged by Abaribe.

     

    He added that Abaribe`s utterances on the Kogi governor was not just an aspersion on Adeyemi, but other Senators representing Kogi in the Senate.

     

    Nabena also said that the warning issued by the PDP on the issue, should therefore, be directed at Abaribe.

     

    According to Nabena, Abaribe should have considered his governor and constituents before making false and unbridled statements against the governor.

     

    “Having tried on more than one occasion to persuade Abaribe to do the honourable thing, without luck, Sen. Adeyemi’s retaliation is naturally expected.

     

    “We therefore ask that Abaribe who is completely responsible for this current unrest being experienced by the people of Abia and the PDP, publicly retract his untrue comments.

     

    “He should immediately apologise and spare the people of Abia the embarrassment they are currently facing with the whole world watching and noting the deplorable state of affairs in the state.

     

    “This hostility instigated by Abaribe was not only mischievous but most unnecessary.

     

    “Be that as it may, we have noted with great delight that the PDP acknowledged that the words of Sen. Adeyemi were respected by Nigerians while in the party,’’ he said.

     

    Nabena stressed that this had not changed, adding that the credibility of Adeyemi`s words followed the integrity he built over the years and his undeniable wealth of experience.

     

    He added that Adeyemi`s words had become more formidable under the APC since he joined its fold. (NAN)

  • CAF lifts restriction on hosting official matches on Libyan territory

    CAF lifts restriction on hosting official matches on Libyan territory

    The Emergency Committee of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has lifted restrictions on hosting of CAF international matches on Libyan territory.

    A report on the CAF website on Friday indicated that the development followed a CAF safety, security and stadium inspection of the cities of Tripoli and Benghazi.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the inspection was carried out from Feb. 8 to Feb. 15, while a further deliberation on the situation in the country followed.

    The report also stated that officials saddled with the mission were further mandated to assess the level of safety and security preparedness in the cities of Tripoli and Benghazi.

    They were also to evaluate the compliance of the hotels selected for reception of teams and officials, from the safety and security point of view.

    “They are also to assess the level of compliance of the two stadiums with club licensing requirements and CAF safety and security guidelines,” the report indicated.

    NAN reports that football matches will now return to Libya, beginning from Benghazi Stadium, subject to a number of conditions being met on stadium suitability to host CAF matches.

    The Emergency Committee has set March 10 as deadline for Libya to comply with the CAF club licensing, safety and security requirements and to satisfy follow-up inspections on the stadium suitability.

  • How l embarked on a journey to Europe, ended up being sold four times in Nigeria – Libya returnee narrates

    How l embarked on a journey to Europe, ended up being sold four times in Nigeria – Libya returnee narrates

    Terry Ikponmwosa, a 31-year-old man has narrated how he was sold four times by human traffickers in Nigeria before he could get to Libya en route to Europe, where he hoped for a good life.

    Ikponmwosa, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Benin, said he was taken into modern-day slavery in Nigeria without him realising it.

    “l embarked on a journey to Europe and ended up being sold four times in Nigeria before I got to Libya.

    “After my secondary education, I went into business. I opened a cement retailing shop which was very lucrative and I was making money, but I needed more.

    “While doing the cement business, a friend introduced me to a man in Benin who promised to help me to travel to Europe.

    “I had over N1million from my cement shop and took the money and embarked on the journey.

    “l left the cement shop for a friend to manage and remit the proceeds to my family for their upkeep, but the man sold the shop and made away with the money.

    “Unknown to me that the man I was introduced to was a trafficker and had already sold me to another man in Agbor, Delta.

    “The man who bought me in Agbor also sold me to another man in that same Agbor.

    “From Agbor, I was finally sold to someone in Kano. This, they conveniently did under the guise of linking me up with those who will make the trip easy and smooth for me,” Ikponmwosa said.

    Ikponmwosa said the slave traders in Nigeria had already sold him in Libya even before he arrived the country.

    “We were 36 that left Kano for Libya, but only four of us made it alive, others died in the desert for lack of food and water.

    “Unfortunately for me, while trying to find my way to Europe, I was arrested alongside other Nigerians and taken to prison.

    “While in the prison, I regretted embarking on the journey because I suffered all through,” he added.

    Ikponmwosa said they resorted to fasting and prayers in prison before the lnternational Organisation for Migration (IOM) came to their rescue.

    On arrival in Nigeria, he said he confronted the man who sold him in Benin upon but he pleaded for forgiveness and promised to refund all the monies he spent.

    “When I finally decided to take the Edo taskforce on human trafficking to arrest him when he refused to refund the money, the man had fled the state, `he said.

    He said later joined the Migrants As Messengers (MaM), a volunteer group with IOM in Edo as an agent of advocacy against irregular migration and human trafficking.

    According to him, it has become very important to educate the youths on the danger of irregular migration.

    Ikponmwosa advised young Nigerians to pass through proper channels to go abroad.

    He said ” It is important to note that travelling through the desert could result to death either in the desert or in the Mediterranean Sea, slavery or imprisonment and forced labour among others.

    “The things I witnessed in the desert and in Libya are unimaginable and each time I remember I weep. I would not want anyone else to experience them, hence I joined MaM,“he said.

  • Two underaged girl abducted by Ogun woman for trafficking to Libya rescued in Kaduna

    Two underaged girl abducted by Ogun woman for trafficking to Libya rescued in Kaduna

    An alleged 35-year-old human trafficking kingpin, Comfort Innocent, has been arrested by operatives of the Ogun State Police Command over the abduction and trafficking of two underaged girls.

    The arrest of the woman on December 22, 2020 was confirmed by the spokesman of the Command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, in a statement on Monday.

    Oyeyemi said the arrest of the suspect followed a report by Oluwaseun Aduratola and Sakirat Fasasi, both residents of Siun town in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of the state, who reported at Owode Egba Police Station that the suspect abducted their daughters: Blessing Aduratola, 15, and Hasisat Fasasi, 16.

    They further explained that the suspect, who is a notorious human trafficker is about taking the two girls to Lybia, where they will forced into prostitution.

    On the strength of the report, the Divisional Police Officer, Owode Egba Division, CSP Mathew Ediae, quickly swung into action with his detectives and through intelligence driven investigation, they succeeded in arresting the suspect.

    On interrogation, Innocent confessed she is a human trafficker and has been into the business for a long time.

    She confessed further that her husband is based in Italy, while she stays in Nigeria recruiting young girls and sending them to her husband in Italy enroute Libya, where they will be using them for prostitution.

    Concerning the two girls she recently abducted, Innocent confessed that the two of them had been taken to kaduna State, from where they will be transported to Libya.

    The two victims have been rescued from Kaduna State by the police.

    The Command’s Commissioner, Edward Awolowo Ajogun, has ordered the immediate transfer of the suspect to the Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Labour Unit of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for further investigation.

    Ajogun also appealed to parents to always be mindful of their children’s well-being, especially the female ones, in order to save them from wolves in human skin.

  • Pope appeals for end to Libyan civil war

    Pope appeals for end to Libyan civil war

    Pope Francis appealed on Sunday for both sides in the Libyan civil war to seek peace, urging the international community to facilitate talks and protect refugees and migrants he said were victims of cruelty.

    In an impassioned plea during his noon address in St. Peter’s Square, Francis said he was pained by the situation in Libya, which has had no stable central authority since dictator Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown by NATO-backed rebels in 2011.

    For more than five years Libya has had rival parliaments and governments in the east and the west, with streets controlled by armed groups and sporadic fighting.

    “Please! I urge international bodies and those who have political and military responsibilities to restart, with conviction and resolve, the search for a path towards an end to violence, leading to peace, stability and unity in the country,” he said.

    Egypt announced a new initiative for Libya on Saturday. Meanwhile Russia and Turkey, who support opposing sides in Libya, have postponed ministerial-level talks on the conflict.

    Libya is divided between the Libyan National Army (LNA) and the rival Government of National Accord (GNA) with nations split over their support of the LNA or the GNA.

    In an apparent reference to the coronavirus pandemic, Francis said the already precarious health conditions of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers had been aggravated, making them even more vulnerable to exploitation and violence.

    “There is cruelty. I call on the international community – Please! – to take their plight to heart … Brothers and sisters, we all have responsibility in this.

    “No one can consider themselves dispensed from this,” he said.

    Human rights groups such as Doctors Without Borders have said people in migrant detention centres in Libya are being held in harmful conditions and exposed to abuses.

  • Libya reports 1st COVID-19 recovery case

    Libya reports 1st COVID-19 recovery case

    The National Centre for Disease Control of Libya’s UN-backed government has announced the first COVID-19 recovery case in the country.

    “We officially announce the recovery of the first case of the new coronavirus after two samples tested negative at the laboratory,’’ Badr Addin Al-Najjar, Director of the centre, told a press conference.

    “Social separation and commitment to home quarantine are the first steps in reducing the spread of the virus,’’ he added.

    When asked about a possible 24-hour curfew in the country, Al-Najjar said it “depends on the development of the epidemic situation’’.

    The centre also announced a new COVID-19 case, bringing the total in the country to 19.

    The country reported the first death from COVID-19 on Thursday, an 85-year-old woman, who was diagnosed with the disease after she passed away.

    UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez Serraj in mid-March declared a state of emergency and mobilisation against the virus.

    His government has taken a series of measures against the pandemic, including closing airports, border crossings, mosques and educational institutions.

    It also banned mass gatherings and movements among cities as well as imposing a curfew.

    The government also stipulated daily working hours from 9.00 a.m. (0700 GMT) to 2.00 p.m. (1200 GMT) local time.

    On March 24, Libya reported its first case in a 73-year-old man, who had returned from Saudi Arabia.

  • Libya confirms first Covid-19 case

    Libya confirms first Covid-19 case

    Libya recorded its first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, the UN-backed government announced, stoking concern that an outbreak could overwhelm the war-torn country’s already weakened health care system.

    As the novel coronavirus pandemic sweeps across the Middle East, countries have sought to slow the increase of cases by limiting the movements of hundreds of millions of people.

     

    A 73-year-old man, who crossed into Libya from neighbouring Tunisia on March 5, became the large North-African country’s first recorded case. The Libyan patient had recently traveled to Saudi Arabia, according to the National Center for Disease Control, and is receiving medical treatment for his fever and cough in isolation at a Tripoli hospital.

    The confirmation of Libya’s first case, three weeks after the patient’s arrival in the country, poses a test for its fragile medical system.

     

  • President Buhari expresses concern over Libya

    President Buhari expresses concern over Libya

    President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed concern over the lack of tangible progress and the worsening security and humanitarian situation in Libya.

    President Buhari raised the concern at the African Union Peace And Security Council Summit on Situations in Libya and the Sahel in Addis Ababa on Saturday.

    A statement from the Nigerian Embassy in Addis Ababa said on Sunday that President Buhari was represented by the minister of foreign affairs Geoffrey Onyeoma

    President Buhari said inspite the best intentions and determined efforts by this Council and the entire African Union, the devastating impact of the conflict on the Libyan people, neighbours, the Sahel and the Lake Chad regions remains alarming.

    “Nigeria joins in the urgent call for a new and fresh approach that truly reflects the paramount interests of the Libyan people, the region and the continent in general.

    “We condemn strongly all forms and manifestations of external interference in Libya including the evident presence of mercenaries and call for strict implementation of the arms embargo.

    “It is more worrisome that the international community is divided across as some external powers, continue to interfere and provide military support to different armed groups and militias.

    The President said that the interference must stop! , noting that there can be no military solution in Libya.

    He reiterated that it has become imperative for all actors to totally respect the hard-won sovereignty and territorial integrity of Libya.

    President Buhari also explained that the report by the Chairperson of the Commission provides ample details of the prevailing security situation in Libya and its implication for the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin, especially the dangers posed by illicit proliferation of small arms and lights weapons.

    “We should also bear in mind the horrific situation of many African migrants caught up in the crisis.

    “We are witnesses to the recently agreed ceasefire after the outbreak of hostilities due to renewed attacks by the so-called Libyan National Army to forcefully takeover Tripoli, ” the President stated.

    He however noted that the threat had persisted and made worse by the lack of a truly national, professional security forces that could defend the internationally-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA).

    He said that the resultant heavy dependence of the government on armed groups and external military assistance for its own security was not sustainable nor in the interest of Libya and regional cohesion.

    President Buhari said that the international community must all work to facilitate Libyan national dialogue, negotiated peace settlement and national reconciliation.

    He also expressed dismay on the reluctance of the UN Security Council to approve the appointment of a joint AU-UN Envoy on Libya.

    “For emphasis, Nigeria reaffirms that the AU must play a constructive role in this process in line with the Decision of our 32nd AU Assembly. “

    “In this respect, Nigeria welcomes the outcome of the AU High Level Committee Meeting held in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, on 30 January 2020, which sets out a comprehensive roadmap for Africa to play active roles in the Libyan peace process.

    “We would continue to work towards the success of ongoing regional efforts to address the challenges of terrorism, violent extremism and transnational organised crime” he said.

    President Buhari said that it was the collective responsibility of members to strengthen the support for the Government and people of Libya and the Sahel, as they strive to create a path towards durable peace and prosperity.

  • NEMA receives 161 Nigerians from Libya

    NEMA receives 161 Nigerians from Libya

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has received another batch of 161 stranded Nigerians from Mtiga in Libya.

    The acting Coordinator, Lagos Territorial Office, NEMA, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, received the returnees on Thursday night in Lagos.

    Farinloye said that the Nigerians arrived the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, late on Thursday night.

    According to him, the returnees were brought via Al Buraq Air Boeing 737 aircraft with flight number UZ 189 and registration number 5A-DMG.

    He said that the Nigerians were brought by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and European Union on the platform of the Assisted Voluntary Returnees (AVR) Programme.

    Farinloye also said that the returnees comprised of 48 female adults, four female children, five female infants as well as 102 adult males, one male child and one infant male.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that other agencies that received the returnees included the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).

    Farinloye said: “This batch brought the total number of voluntary returnees from Libya to 14,045, which is made up of 8,200 males and 5,845 females.”

    One of the returnees, an indigene of Akure, Ondo State, who preferred anonymity, while narrating her ordeal, said she was 19 years when she left Nigeria.

    The returnee said that she spent a year and three months before she decided to return to Nigeria.

    She explained that she left Nigeria due to pressure on her when her mother had mental health problems and the father of her child abandoned them.

    “I was left with the tasks of fending for my siblings, mother and my daughter.

    “My mother’s relations and friends abandoned us. I was a tailoring apprentice after my husband left us.

    “My mum was thrown out of the house because we could not afford to pay for rent,’’ she narrated.

    According to her, feeding became a serious problem, my siblings could not continue schooling and they dropped out of school.

    “No one was there for us. I had no alternative than to seek more opportunities outside when I was told that I could secure good jobs.

    “It was unfortunate that the so-called good jobs were meant to destroy our future. Most of our ladies are located in connection job while a handful in “Arabu” works.

    “Arabu work is like the job of a house maid which goes with unpleasant experience from torture to overworking into very late hours and waking up very early. The `connection job’ is like introducing ladies to prostitution.

    “ The worst of it all was that all efforts to raise money became fruitless as militants or police could burst into our houses, robbed us of our belongings and went away with everything we had worked for over there,’’ she said.

    According to her, trying to send something through a Nigerian, you have to part with the same amount you wish to send.

    She explained that a Nigerian would collect cash and asked his relation in Nigeria to send half of the amount to the person that the money was meant for,” she said.

    The returnee said: “I will never encourage anyone to embark on this type of perilous journey as it is just a waste of one’s life for the period spent on this type of journey. Though it was an experience but a very bad one.

    “I need assistance to start my life. My mother is better health wise and she is hawking pure water now.

    “I learnt IOM and other organisations are helping people like us.

    “ I want to complete my fashion designing apprenticeship but need to source for a means of feeding while I am under apprenticeship.”