The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) confirmed the receiving of 152 returnees from Libya and 104 stranded civilians from N’Djamena, the Republic of Chad on Tuesday.
Returnees from Libya were received at the cargo wing of Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, while returnees from Chad were received at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano.
Lagos’s NEMA coordinator Ibrahim Farinloye said in a statement that the 152 Libyan returnees included 25 children and 127 adults.
Furthermore, they were brought back to the country with the assistance of the Nigerian embassy.
They also had the support of the International Organization for Migration and the Libya government.
The statement read;
“The Director-General, NEMA, Alhaji Mustapha Ahmed, received the Assisted Voluntary Returnees at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Ikeja.
“The returnees, who arrived aboard Al Buraq Air Boeing 737-800 with registration number 5A-DMG, landed around 4.38pm. The profiles of the returnees indicate that 54 adult females, seven children and three infant females were brought back.
“Also 73 adult males including those with medical cases, eight male children and seven infant males were among the batch.
The International Organisation for Migration and the Nigeria Embassy in Libya collaborated to assist the stranded Nigerians back after their failed attempts to cross over the Mediterranean Sea into Europe.”
Farinloye said the Director-General was represented by the Chief Executive General Service, Mrs Adenike OgunKunle.
Also, the Coordinator, Kano Territorial Office of the Agency, Dr Nuradeen Abdullahi was represented by the Head of Human Resources, Suleiman Sa’ad-Abubakar.
Suleiman stated that he received the Chad returnees at about 2:15pm in Kano on Tuesday.
He said the returnees were transported to Nigeria by SKY MALI Airlines. It was operated by Ethiopian Airline B737-500 with registration number UR-CQX.
Furthermore, the coordinator said the returnees comprised 34 males, 18 females and 52 children. The majority of them hail from Kano, Katsina, Borno, Akwa Ibom and Yobe states.
“The returnees were brought back under the care of the International Organisation for Migration from N’Djamena through a voluntary repatriation programme.
“The programme is for the distressed who had left the country to seek greener pastures in European countries and could not afford to return when their journey became frustrated,” he said.