Louis Ibah
About 180 Nigerians stranded in Libya were deported to Nigeria, yesterday.
The returnees comprised 82 adult females, two female children and 11 female infants, as well as 79 adult males, one male child and five male infants, making it a total of 95 females and 85 males.
The returnees arrived the cargo terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, aboard a Buraq Air aircraft with flight number UZ 189 -190 and registration number 5A-DMG. They were first profiled by officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service, to ascertain they were Nigerians before being allowed to enter the country.
Welcoming the returnees to Nigeria, the Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Lagos Territorial Office, Idris Muhammed, enjoined them to put behind them the bitter experiences of trying to cross over to Europe from Libya and strive to be good citizens of Nigeria. He also urged Nigerians to desist from taking the risk of migrating out of the country illegally, giving the associated risk to their lives as recounted by majority of the returnees from Libya.
The coordinator said in emergency situations like in the case of stranded illegal migrants from Nigeria, everyone has a role to play in stemming the menace. He, therefore, solicited the cooperation of non-governmental organisations to raise awareness on the dangers of illegal migration.