403 Stranded Nigerians Return From Niger Republic

403 Nigerians, including children stranded in the Niger Republic, have been returned to the country.

Speaking during the reception exercise at the Nigerian Immigration Service Training School in Kano at the weekend, the federal commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Hon. Aliyu Tijani, said the returnees comprised 52 households, including 165 males, 56 females, and 182 children and infants.

Represented by the commission’s state coordinator, Mrs Lubah Liman, the commissioner said the second batch of 392 voluntarily returned on Saturday following the arrival of the first batch of 11, which returned on Tuesday, December 17th, 2024.

According to him, the success of the humanitarian return was achieved through a coordinated multi-agency effort jointly organised by the Nigerian Mission in Niamey and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

While reiterating the federal government’s commitment to reintegrating the returnees into various government programs under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, he said the ongoing effort reflects the government’s determination to ensure the safe and dignified return of Nigerians stranded abroad.

Hon Tijani, however, noted that upon arrival, the returnees were profiled by officers from NCFRMI and the Nigerian Immigration Service while representatives from the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the Department of State Security (DSS), the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and the Kano State Emergency Management Agency were on ground to provide additional support.

He further commended the collaborative efforts among the participating agencies, noting that they have yielded success for the operation.