On Tuesday, when the federal government continued its voluntary evacuation in Libya, it worked with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to evacuate 151 trapped Nigerians from Benghazi, Libya.
This was said in a statement made available to the media on Tuesday in Abuja by Amb. Kabiru Musa, Charge d’affiares en titre of the Nigerian Mission in Libya.
The evacuees, who comprised 71 women, 54 men, 14 kids, and 13 newborns, are reportedly due to arrive at Lagos’ Murtala Mohammed Airport around 8 p.m., according to Musa.
According to Musa, the IOM and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs successfully deported about 4,000 Nigerians who were in the country illegally in 2022 via the Nigerian Mission in Libya.
He said that the voluntary evacuation on March 28 was the first of the year and that there will be other drills in the days and weeks to come.
“At 16:00 local time, we successfully evacuated 151 stranded Nigerians from Benghazi to Lagos, Nigeria, on board chartered aeroplane number. UZ189, as part of the IOM’s voluntary repatriation programme.
“The plane is anticipated to land in Lagos, Nigeria, at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, at about 20:00 on the same day.
“Several Nigerians who are here illegally have received extremely cruel treatment, and the Federal Government has continued to intervene with local authorities to stop this,” said the mission there.
The option to return to Nigeria securely and be reunited with family is provided through voluntary repatriation.
According to Musa, there are always representatives from the appropriate government agencies on the ground to welcome them and see to it that they are resettled and reintegrated into society.
More Nigerians, according to Musa, will be evacuated from Tripoli on Wednesday, and another operation would take place in Misrata, Libya, on April 3.
