The Federal Government has repatriated 158 irregular Nigerian migrants from Libya, according to Nigeria’s Charge d’Affaires to Libya, Amb. Mohammed Mohammed.
In a statement on Wednesday, Mohammed detailed that the group of evacuees comprised 77 males, 45 females, 26 children, and 10 infants.
Of the total number, 26 males had been arrested during ongoing raids of undocumented foreigners in Libya and were released from the Abu-Salim Detention Centre in Tripoli.
“So far, 1,776 stranded Nigerians have been returned home,” Mohammed stated, noting that the repatriation was a collaborative effort between the mission and Libyan authorities under the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and its Voluntary Humanitarian Repatriation (VHR) program.
“This marks the 12th evacuation exercise carried out by the Nigerian Mission in Libya this year,” he added. “The current exercise follows the repatriation of 142 irregular Nigerian migrants from Sabha, Libya, on July 19.”
Mohammed explained that some evacuees had been rescued from the Mediterranean Sea by the Libyan Coastal Guards, while others were arrested on charges of prostitution, illegal entry, overstaying, and lack of proper documentation. Some voluntarily submitted themselves to the IOM for repatriation.
“Nigerians living in Libya, from many indications, already have damaged reputations due to the alleged nefarious activities of some criminal elements among them,” Mohammed noted. “Some have been implicated in crimes such as kidnapping for ransom, drug peddling, prostitution, sale of alcohol, cultism, and human trafficking with their Libyan collaborators, among others.”
He warned that arrests and deportations of Nigerians might continue in the coming weeks and months, as Libyan authorities consider the influx of illegal migrants a national security issue and have vowed to employ all legal means to stop the menace.
The envoy urged Nigerians to avoid irregular migration, highlighting the increasing and coordinated raids of illegal migrants across Libyan cities.
