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Tag: Libya

  • 168 stranded Nigerians return from Libya

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Friday received another batch of 168 stranded Nigerian returnees from Libya.

    The Acting Coordinator, NEMA Lagos Territorial Office, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, received the returnees on behalf of the Director-General of NEMA at the cargo wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

    Farinloye told newsmen that the returnees arrived in the country aboard a chartered Al Buraq airline with flight number UZ289/190 at 5:42 a.m after 12 hours delay.

    He said that 38 female adults, five female children were returned with 109 adult males, six male children and 10 infants, among others.

    He said that this had brought the total number of returnees from Libya from April 2017 to date to 8,096 males and 5,788 females.

    “This has brought the total number of returnees brought to Nigeria from 16 countries to 15,731 since April 2017 to date.

    Farinloye, while qouting the summary of the special EU-IOM and Federal Government intervention from 2017 to October 2019, said that Libya had the highest number of returnees with 8,096 males and 5,788 females.

    ” Nigeria returnees from Niger Republic stood at 1,043 males and 556 females; Morocco male 42, female 37; Liberia male eight and female four.

    ” Burkina Faso male six, female 18, France male three, female one, while Ireland had only one female, but countries like Polad, Austria, Gambia, Mauritania, Ethiopia had one male each assisted back.

    ” Chad had one male, two females and Cote D’ivoire had only two females brought back within the period,” Farinloye said.

    According him, ” Estimatedly, adults males are 54 per cent, 37 per cent are for female, while male and female minors stood at four per cent each.

    ” In the same vein, the distressed migrants brought back per state of origin shows that Edo State topped the list with 40.6%, Delta 13.3%, Ogun 6.2%, Imo 4.7%, Lagos 4.3%, Oyo 4.1%, Yobe 3.6%, Kano 3.1% and Osun with 2.9%, while other states complete the rest.”

    He said those who suffered various degrees of torture were 31 males and 21 females, while unaccompanied minors that were assisted back in males were 66 males and 67 females.

    Farinloye added that those who were kidnapped out of Nigeria, but assisted back to the country were 79 males, 31 females, while single parents male were 41 and female were 616.

    He said total number of pregnant women brought back so far were 439, while those with various medical issues were 592 males and 804 females.

    Migrants assisted back with psychosocial needs are 523 males and 470 females.

  • 161 Nigerians arrive from Libya on Independence Day

    161 Nigerians arrive from Libya on Independence Day

    As the nation celebrates her 59th independence anniversary, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) received another batch of 161 stranded Nigerian returnees from Libya.

    Alhaji Idris Muhammed, the Coordinator, NEMA Lagos Territorial Office, confirmed the development to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.

    Muhammed said the Nigerians arrived at the Cargo Wing of Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, at about 5.35 a.m. on Tuesday.

    He said the returnees were brought back aboard an Al Buraq Air aircraft with registration number 5A-DMG from Misrata City, a 200-kilometer distance from Tripoli, Libya.

    He added that the returnees were assisted home by the International Organisation for Migration and the European Union under the Assisted Voluntary Returnees Programme which started in April 2017.

    Muhammed said the stranded Nigerians were received on behalf of the Federal Government by NEMA and other agencies, including the Edo State Task Force Against Human Trafficking and the Nigeria Immigration Service.

    He said “at the end of profiling of the returnees, there were 48 female adults, one female child and seven female infants, 93 male adults, five male children and seven male infants, totalling 161.”

    The coordinator said three male adults who had medical issues were immediately evacuated to the hospital for medical treatment.

  • 158 Nigerians return from Libya

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Thursday morning received another batch of 158 Nigerians from Libya.

    Alhaji Idris Muhammed, the Head of NEMA Territorial Office in Lagos, told newsmen that the agency received the returnees on behalf of the Federal Government.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that these returnees from Libya arrived in the country few hours after 187 Nigerians returned from South Africa.

    Muhammed said the Libya returnees were brought back in a chartered flight, Al Buraq Air aircraft, which landed at the cargo wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos at about 12:55 a.m.

    According to him, the evacuation of this batch of Nigerians from Libya was facilitated by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the European Union (EU) under the Assisted Voluntary Returnees Programme.

    “The breakdown of the returnees after profiling indicates that they are 56 adult female including eight pregnant women, three female children and five female infants.

    “It also includes 84 male adult, five male children and five male infants, while seven returnees have minor medical cases.”

    Other agencies involved in the reception of the returnees were the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Nigeria Immigration Service and the Federal Airports Authourity of Nigeria.

  • NEMA receives 171 Nigerians from Libya

    NEMA receives 171 Nigerians from Libya

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Friday received another batch of 171 stranded Nigerians from Libya.
    Alhaji Idris Muhammed, Coordinator, Lagos Territorial Office of NEMA, who was represented by Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, Public Information Officer, said the returnees arrived the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport about 1.10 a.m. on Friday.
    He said that they arrived aboard an Al Buraq Airline aircraft with registration number 5A-DMG and flight number UZ 196/25.
    According to him, the returnees were brought back by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and European Union, under the Assisted Voluntary Returnees (AVR) Programme.
    Muhammed said the figure comprised 61 female adults, one female child and five female infants, as well as 98 adult males, one male child and five male infants.
    He advised Nigerian youths to be wary of overseas love advances from strangers, noting that this was now one of the tactics being used by human traffickers, to lure them outside the country.
    The coordinator said the traffickers were now contacting ladies via social media apps, especially Facebook and WhatsApp, and making fake marriage proposals to them, to deceive them into traveling outside Nigeria.
    He cited a particular case when a lady sought advice about a man who simply called himself Ali, who claimed to be living in Sudan.
    “Upon critical observation, the code number of the caller indicated that it belongs to Libyan code, and the man that makes video calls was an Arab; but he was not making statements for the lady to hear him.
    “It was understood that the man cannot communicate in English, but someone behind the scene was responsible for the chatting with the lady,” Muhammed said.
    He urged them to put behind their experiences in the volatile North African country and take advantage of the opportunities being put in place by the Federal Government, IOM and other development partners, to forge a better future for themselves.
    Muhammed advised young Nigerians planning to leave the country to make use of the Migrant Resource Centres, jointly set up by the government and the IOM, to know more about their destination countries.
    NAN reports that NEMA said as at March 15, 12,574 Nigerians have so far returned from Libya under the Assisted Voluntary Returnees Programme, which began in April 2017.
    NAN reports that NEMA said over 4,900 of the returnees have also been trained on various skill acquisition and empowerment training by IOM through special funding facilitated by the EU.

  • Bombing of Migrants centre in Libya is 'inhuman, wicked, callous' – Buhari

    Bombing of Migrants centre in Libya is 'inhuman, wicked, callous' – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the deadly airstrike that killed about 40 people in a migrant centre near Tripoli, Libya.
    In a statement by Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to President, Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Wednesday, Buhari described the attack as “inhuman, wicked and callous” on “helpless and defenceless people”.
    President Buhari , however, called for an international investigation, saying those behind the death and injury of scores of migrants must be made to face justice.
    He noted that the unfortunate attack was a wake-up call to the warring factions in Libya and the international community to quickly restore peace and stability in the beleaguered country.
    He prayed to God to comfort grieving families and grant speedy healing to the injured.
    Recall that over 40 persons were reported killed and many injured in an apparent airstrike that hit a migrant centre in a suburb of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, early on Wednesday.
    Footages posted online showed that women and children were among the dead while hospitals and medical centres in and around Tripoli were flooded with badly wounded victims of the attack.

  • U-23 AFCON Qualifiers: Osimhen scores hat-trick as Nigeria beat Libya

    U-23 AFCON Qualifiers: Osimhen scores hat-trick as Nigeria beat Libya

    Former Golden Eaglets hotshot, Victor Osimhen, grabbed a hat-trick on Monday as Nigeria ‘s under-23 male national football team defeated their Libyan counterparts 4-0 on Monday in Asaba.

    The match, which was palyed at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, is the second leg of a qualification round for the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

    The Nigerian side had lost 0-2 in the first leg game played on Wednesday in Tunisia, Libya’s home ground for now, and have now advanced to the qualifiers’ next round 4-2 aggregate.

    The second leg game, which was watched by a handful of spectators, saw the Libyan team putting up a defensive play right from the first blast of the whistle.

    However, the Nigerian team took total control of the midfield, as they mounted sustained attacks on the Libyan defence.

    The Nigerian team’s efforts finally paid off in the 33rd minute of play, when Osimhen grabbed his first goal of the game from a rebound after a free-kick hit the upright.

    On resumption of the second half, the Nigerian team went on the offensive in their search for more goals, forcing the Libyan defence to commit blunders.

    Osimhen again rose to the occasion, as he poked in the second goal of the game in the 64th minute after the Libyan goalkeeper, Aymar Altihar, mistakenly parried a cross onto his path.

    He later grabbed his hat-trick in the 75th minute following a goalmouth scrabble, after the Libyan defence failed to clear a Nigeria cross inside the penalty box.

    Before the ovation which trailed the goal could die down, Nigeria’s Chidozie Okereke grabbed the fourth goal on the dot of 90 minutes for Nigeria.

    At the post-match media conference, Nigeria’s coach Imama Amapakabo expressed joy and satisfaction with the win.

    He said the Nigerian team played according to the game plan and deserved the victory.

    “After the first leg in Tunisia which we lost, we learnt a lot because we saw their pattern of play.

    “So, we came home and decided to work on how to break down their style of play.

    “Today, we played according to our game plan, to get an early goal, and then follow it up with as many goals as possible,” he said.

    Also speaking, Nigeria’s team captain, Azubuike Okechukwu, said the victory was well deserved.

    “We came down here to win and we have achieved that. I must say we played our game, we were not under pressure.

    “More so, the fans here today are so marvellous. They gave us so much support and we really appreciate it,” Okechukwu said.

  • U-23 AFCON Qualifiers: Nigeria lose 0-2 to Libya

    U-23 AFCON Qualifiers: Nigeria lose 0-2 to Libya

    Nigeria began the race towards the defence of their African Under-23 title on Wednesday on a sour note as they lost 0-2 defeat to their Libyan counterparts in Tunisia.

    The match played on the artificial turf of the Ben Guerdane Stadium in Bergandan, near Tunis was a first round first leg encounter in the qualification series.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigeria’s Olympic Eagles team were aiming to replicate their achievements of 2016.

    The Nigerian team featuring the likes of Villareal forward Samuel Chukwueze, Taiwo Awoniyi, Kelechi Nwakali, Azubuike Okechukwu and Dennis Bonaventure had an early setback by conceding a goal after five minutes.

    They however settled into the game gradually to control possession with a dominant midfield play, but found it hard to crack their opponents defence.

    But while the Eagles were trying to find an equaliser, goalkeeper Adamu Abubakar was sent off just before the half-time break.

    Adamu was sent off after he handled the ball outside the penalty area.

    Olawale Oremader later in the second half replaced Bonaventure as the Olympic Eagles began to battle with 10 players.

    They would have gotten the much needed equaliser in the 53rd minute when Awoniyi was presented with a goalscoring opportunity, failing to finish off a cross from Chukwueze from the left.

    The Nigerian side were made to rue their missed chances when the hosts doubled their lead in the 69th minute after a sweeping counter-attack move.

    They now have their work cut out in the crucial return leg fixture at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba on Tuesday to keep their hopes of making the African tournament alive.

    The tournament billed for Egypt in November is to produce Africa’s flagbearers at the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

  • 12,574 Nigerians voluntarily returned from Libya in 23 months – NEMA

    12,574 Nigerians voluntarily returned from Libya in 23 months – NEMA

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Friday said 12,574 Nigerians have so far returned from Libya under the Assisted Voluntary Returnees Programme, which began in April 2017.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the the Coordinator, NEMA Lagos Territorial Office, Malam Idris Muhammed made this while receiving a fresh batch of 174 Nigerians who arrived from Libya on Thursday night.

    Muhammed lauded the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the European Union (EU) for facilitating the return of Nigerians stranded in the volatile North African country.

    According to him, over 4,900 of the returnees have also been trained on various skill acquisition and empowerment training by IOM through special funding facilitated by the EU.

    He added that most of these returnees had set up various businesses in their choice of occupation and were contributing their quota to national development.

    Muhammed assured the returnees of the Federal Government’s readiness to continue to support and collaborate with other development partners in providing enabling environment for young Nigerians to actualise their potential.

    He said the new returnees arrived on the 64th flight facilitated by the IOM and EU.

    Muhammed said: “The returnees were brought back aboard an Al Buraq Airline Boeing 737-800 aircraft with flight number UZ 389-390 and registration number 5A-DMG.

    “The aircraft arrived at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport , Lagos at about 9.45 p.m.

    “At the end of profiling, the breakdown of the returnees shows that they were 62 female adults , 11 female children and 11 female infants making a total of 84 females.

    “The males were composed of 74 male adults, 12 male children and four male infants making a total of 90 males,” the NEMA coordinator said.

  • NEMA receives 326 Nigerians from Libya

    NEMA receives 326 Nigerians from Libya

    At least, 326 stranded Nigerians in Libya have arrived Nigeria, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said.

    Alhaji Idris Muhammed, Coordinator, Lagos Territorial Office of NEMA, who confirmed the development to newsmen on Friday in Lagos, said the returnees were received in two batches.

    Muhammed said the Nigerians arrived the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos via two different flights.

    He said the first flight arrived Nigeria with 143 returnees aboard Al Buraq Air Boeing 737-800 aircraft, with registration number 5A-DMG which landed at 10. 20p.m on Thursday.

    He said the second flight, a Nouvelair aircraft, with registration number TS-INA, arrived with 183 returnees aboard at about 1.20 a.m on Friday.

    Muhammed said the Nigerians were brought back by International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the European Union (EU) under the Assisted Voluntary Returnees (AVR) programme.

    He said officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) were on ground to welcome the Nigerian returnees.

    “At the end of profiling, the breakdown of the returnees shows 148 female adults; six female children, 15 female infants, making a total of 169 females.

    “The males are143 male adults, two male children and 12 male infants, making a total of 157 males,” the NEMA coordinator said.
    He enjoined the returnees to join the government in working assiduously toward making Nigeria a prosperous nation.

    Muhammed said: “The country of our dream is unfolding. As you are struggling to travel outside the country, many foreign nationals are struggling to come into Nigeria as well.

    “Movement of people is naturally divine and no one is saying you should not travel but travelling across the desert is not worth it.

    “The Federal government is desirous to make every Nigerian contribute his or her quota in developing the country to the level we want it to be.

    “Let us all stay back and support the government in its efforts at refocusing the country.

    “We all have trust and confidence in this government that it will lead us to the promise land with the present leadership, but youths are the engine room in building a virile and developed nation.

    “Traveling out for greener pastures outside will not enable our needed collective efforts that are very vital at this stage of the country’s progressive history.”

    He advised the returnees to be ready for reintegration process that would follow the arrival stage that had just been completed.

    Mr Daniel Atokolo, Commander, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) Lagos Zone, assured Nigerians that any information provided, that could lead to the arrest of traffickers, would be treated with utmost secrecy.

    He also assured that government was ready to protect the identity of informants, adding that the task of eradicating human trafficking in Nigeria required the efforts of all and sundry.

  • 2 suspected traffickers nabbed as 164 Nigerians return from Libya

    Two suspected human traffickers were on Friday apprehended for trafficking some Nigerians to Libya with the promise of taking them to Europe.

    The suspects (named withheld) were apprehended after they were identified by their victims during the profiling of 164 Nigerians who voluntarily returned from the volatile North African country.

    Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), South West Zone, confirmed the development to newsmen in Lagos.

    Farinloye said the suspected traffickers have been handed over to officials of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for further investigation.

    According to him, the two men were among the new batch of 164 returnees who arrived the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos about 12.15 a.m. on Friday.

    He said the Nigerians were brought by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the European Union (EU) under the Assisted Voluntary Returnees Programme that would end in April 2020.

    Farinloye said: “The returnees were brought onboard a chartered Al Burag Airline Boeing 737-800 aircraft with registration number 5A-DMG.

    “Upon profiling, the returnees consisted of 71 female adults, 17 female children and six female infants. There were also 55 male adults 13 male children and two male infants.

    “Among them were three returnees with medical cases and a pregnant woman who was in labour upon arrival in Nigeria.”

    He advised the returnees to remain focused on starting a positive life with the abundant resources available within Nigeria instead of seeking the elusive greener pastures outside the country.

    He said though it was their right to seek for better livelihood outside the country, they must however, ensure to follow processes that would not endanger their lives.

    Farinloye said : “One will not appreciate the abundant resources God have endowed us with in Nigeria until you travel out.

    “All of you have gone and fortunately came back alive and you are at the best position to tell the story to those still aspiring to embark on such journeys.

    “We understand that many of you were deceived with very juicy opportunities overseas and these are mostly your close relatives.

    ” You need to assist the government to stem the menace of trafficking by giving information to government agencies who are going to protect your identity and safety.

    “The traffickers are not ghosts; you know them and you need to save other youths from falling victims.”