FG, IOM evacuate 112 Nigerians from Libya
CITIZENS COMPASS – THE Federal Government, in collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration, has evacuated another batch of 112 stranded Nigerians from Libya’s capital, Tripoli.
Amb. Kabiru Musa, Charge d’Affaires En Titre of the Nigerian Mission to Libya, made this known in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.
Musa said that the continuous voluntary evacuation exercise was part of the Federal Government’s efforts to ensure that none of its citizens were left stranded abroad.
He said that the evacuees were expected to arrive at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on Tuesday evening.
“The Federal Government, through its Mission in Libya, facilitated the evacuation of another batch of 112 stranded Nigerians from the capital city of Tripoli.
“The evacuees include 55 men, 47 women, six children, and four infants.
They departed Mitiga International Airport, Tripoli aboard chartered flight No. UZ01890 at 13.30 local time and are expected to arrive at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos same day,” he said.
According to him, this is the sixth evacuation exercise the Federal Government is conducting this year, with almost 5,000 Nigerians successfully evacuated from Libya.
“This is a voluntary exercise, and as long as our citizens are willing to return home, the government will continue to fulfill its responsibility to return them home in a safe manner.
“We appreciate the IOM and the Libyan authorities for their support,” Musa said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that as a transit country to Europe, thousands of Nigerians are reported to be stranded in Libya from human trafficking, and suffer terrible ordeals at the hands of their traffickers in the North American country.
NAN