Another batch of 253 Nigerians voluntarily arrived the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos from Libya at 6. 45 pm yesterday on board a chartered Airbus A330-200 with registration number 5A-LAT operated by Libya Airlines .
The voluntary returnees were made up of 102 males, 140 females, six children and five infants.
As it is usual, they were brought back by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the Nigerian Embassy in Tripoli. Libya.
On arrival at Lagos Airport, they were received at the Hajj Camp area of the airport by officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) , the National Agency for the Protection of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the Police, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
Speaking to journalists shortly after receiving the voluntary returnees, Director, Search and Rescue, NEMA, Dr Onimode Bandele, said two of the returnees had medical issues.
He stated that one of the returnees was suffering from while the other had severe burns requiring surgical operation.
According to him, “Let’s thank God that these ones have returned safely because Libya is not what it used to be.
“As a government, our advice is that young Nigerians should strive to work hard and tap into vast opportunities available in the country instead of seeking greener pastures elsewhere.”
Bamidele stated some state governments had initiated various programmes to rehabilitate and reintegrate the returnees back into the society.
NEMA, he pointed out would continue to work with IOM to bring back Nigerians, who according to him are willing to return, adding that the programme was continuous one.
Speaking to journalists, a returnee, who suffered the severe burns on her face and who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said she arrived Libya in February after making a payment of N300, 000 to her traffickers.
She added that she suffered the injury while working for her “madam” who only went to dump her at the hospital where she had been abandoned.
She appealed to the government for assistance to carry out a reconstructive surgery on her face in order for her life to return to normalcy.
