By Desire Emmanuel
One hundred and sixty Nigerians who has been stranded in Libya for some time were on Tuesday evening repatriated back to the country, a competent source at the Nigerian Consulate in the country disclosed.
The Nigerians, including women and children, were said to have arrived in the North African country at different times. Some of them got there and became stranded while attempting to cross into Europe through the Mediterranean Sea.
Others landed there after they were promised lucrative jobs in the country but on getting there, the jobs were not available, making them to engage in undignifying jobs, including becoming domestic servants.
However, apparently due to the frustration of living in the country and suffering untold hardship, some of them were said to have gone to the various security agencies and the Nigerian Consulate in Tripoli and explained their situations while some were arrested for various offences.
On Tuesday, December 2, the Directorate for Combatting Illegal Immigration (DICM) in the Libyan capital in conjunction with the Nigerian Consulate and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) repatriated the 160 Nigerans from the country.
They were said to have left Tripoli, the country’s capital, through the Mitiga International Airport on Tuesday evening and they are expected to arrive Nigeria any moment from now.
The Nigerian government, through the Nigerian in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), has always warned the citizens of the country from embarking on the dangerous journey to Libya through the desert routes.
Also, no fewer than 20,000 Nigerians have either been deported or repatriated from the North African country this year alone. But despite all these, especially the warnings, many Nigerians still embark on the dangerous journey in order to make their arrival in Europe a reality.
