Nigerians who returned from Libya narrate tales of woes
- Some Nigerians voluntarily returned from Libya
- They lamented that were punished by Libyan people and claimed they were tricked into going there
- The government promised to help those who voluntarily returned
171 Nigerians who returned to Nigeria from Libya came back with stories of punishment and suffering.
NAN reports that the landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on Tuesday, February 21.
The returnees represent another batch of Nigerians who came back from Libya.
Miss
Gift Peters who was one of the returnees lamented that she got to Libya
11 month ago after she was tricked into believing she was being taken
to Italy.
The Delta lady who spoke in tears said they were sometimes forced to take urine as a form of punishment.
She said: “When I got to Libya, it was
not in my mind to continue with the journey. So I asked the person that
took me to return me to Nigeria but he started maltreating me and sold
me to someone who has a connection house in Libya where we were
maltreated daily.
“If we don’t want to work, they will start maltreating us. They will do you something that you will wish to die.
Nigerians who returned from Libya narrate tales of woes
“Those
who they sold us to, sometimes, use iron and start burning us. At
times, they will instruct our fellow ladies to urinate for us to drink.”
She
explained that she was fortunate to contact her family members in
Nigeria which facilitated her return but that some of those who went
with her on the journey were not so lucky.
It
was reported that they were received at the Hajj Camp area of the
airport by officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service, the National
Agency for the Protection of Trafficking in Persons and the Police after
their return was orchestrated by the International Organisation for
Migration and the Nigerian Embassy in Libya.
Nigerians who returned from Libya narrate tales of woes
Mrs
Abike Dabiri-Erewa who is the special adviser to President Muhammadu
Buhari on foreign affairs and diaspora applauded the safe return of the
returnees.
She said: “Like I told them, they
are not criminals. These are people that have gone in search for
greener pastures. However, it turned out to be a terrible experience for
them.
“They shouldn’t be ashamed of
themselves. Now they are back home and Mr President has personally
conveyed his greetings to them and to let them know that they are back
in Nigeria and there is no better time than now.
“Times are tough, things are difficult but your country is the best place to be."
She
explained that Federal Government, IOM and some states have put up
programmes in place to rehabilitate Nigerians who volunteered to return
from Libya.
Nigerians who returned from Libya narrate tales of woes
“The
question is, how long are we going to keep evacuating them? So there is
going to be another evacuation and a final one when we will tell
Nigerians who are stranded in Libya to come back home.
“After that, it will be difficult getting IOM to do the evacuation.
Nigerians who returned from Libya narrate tales of woes
“A
lot of them don’t know where they are going to. There is a lot of
ignorance here. Some of them are trafficked and they get there with
nothing.
“The message here is that
illegal migration is not worth it because as tough as the country is
today, you are better off here than being in those places.”
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