Over 956 more Nigerians have been evacuated from Libya in the first quarter of 2025 alone, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the chairman/CEO of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), has said.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Monday by Abdur-Rahman Balogun, director of Media, Public Relations and Protocols Unit, NiDCOM, Abuja, stressing that this effort was courtesy of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Nigeria and the National Commission For Refugees Migrants And Internally Displaced Persons Offices (NCRMI).
The breakdown shows that 683 were females, 132 males, 87 children and 54 infants.
The returnees were brought home in six tranches from January to March 2025.
The six trips included 152 on January 28, 145,180 and 159 on February 11, 19 and 25 respectively while 144 and 176 came in on March 4 and 18 respectively.
The statement added that in the last few years, the federal government and the International Organization for Migration have evacuated well over 15,000 stranded Nigerians back home.
Dabiri-Erewa reiterated the Commission’s persistent advice to Nigerians to avoid dangerous and deadly migration routes such as Libya , a war torn country dealing with many struggles.
“Because of the delicate political situation in Libya, we countlessly caution Nigerians to avoid Libya as a pathway to Europe; not just Libya but other irregular routes,” she said.
She urged Nigerians to follow the legal and regular means of migration, noting that some rescued Nigerians from Libya still return to Libya or more dangerous routes to get into Europe.
Dabiri-Erewa stressed that the federal government will continually uphold the interest, dignity and fundamental human rights of Nigerians at home and in the diaspora, irrespective of their socio-economic, ethno-cultural or religious backgrounds, and called for collaboration with government agencies, NGOs, the media and other relevant stakeholders to join hands in raising awareness on the dangers of irregular migration.
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