IOM Rescues 67,000 Stranded Nigerian Migrants, Supports 30,000 Returnees

The United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) said it has rescued more than 67,000 stranded Nigerian migrants and provided reintegration support to at least 30,000 returnees since 2017, as part of its assisted voluntary return and reintegration programme.

IOM Project Assistant on Awareness Raising,Ms. Fatima Adeyemi, disclosed this on Monday during a three-day migration reporting workshop held in Lagos, where she outlined the organisation’s ongoing interventions in migrant protection, awareness creation, and safe migration pathways.

According to her, the IOM’s operations are centred on saving lives, supporting displaced persons, and strengthening migration governance in collaboration with partner institutions.

“On migrant protection, the IOM has rescued over 67,000 stranded Nigerian migrants through its Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration programme since 2017. So far, over 30,000 of those Nigerian returned migrants have received psychological, social and economic integration-related support,” Adeyemi said.

She explained that the organisation works across multiple migration frameworks, including facilitated migration, immigration management, and free movement arrangements within regional blocs such as ECOWAS.

“Now, as an organisation, our major mission is that we act with our partners to drive solutions to displacements, save lives, take people on the roads and make sure that they are passed through to regular evaluation. Down south here, we focus more on facilitated migration and immigration management. We also have free movements and migration where we work with entities such as ECOWAS to ensure that immigration issues are followed through legally,” she said.

Adeyemi also highlighted increasing efforts to prevent irregular migration through early awareness campaigns, particularly targeting young Nigerians in schools and border communities.

“We are working with government secondary schools, including unity schools and military schools as well as schools close to borders to raise awareness on illegal migration. We want schoolchildren to be sensitised before they are brainwashed to migrate illegally. We are sensitising the children about how to properly migrate,” she said.

She further noted that Nigeria has institutional structures designed to guide prospective migrants and verify information before travel decisions are made.

“In Nigeria, we have the Migration Resource Centre in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, where we educate potential migrants and verify information about where they are going. Not many people are aware of the services that IOM offers migrants, and that is where the media comes in to help to increase this sensitisation drive,” she added.

Adeyemi also disclosed that the organisation is working with the National Commission for Refugees and other stakeholders to establish a national referral mechanism for stranded migrants, aimed at improving coordination and response.

“If someone finds himself stranded, he should locate the IOM office or the Nigerian Embassy in that country. We focus mainly on ensuring their safe return. We will also try to improve integration of returned migrants,” she said.