Another batch of 159 stranded returnees from Libya yesterday arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
The latest arrival increased the number of Assisted Voluntary Returnees to 13, 407 since the exercise started in April 2017 till date.
They were assisted home under the International Organization for Migration /European Union joint initiative for migrants’ protection and reintegration.
The Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency, Yinusa Maihajja, received the returnees who arrived aboard Al-Buraq airline Boeing 737-656 with registration number 5A-DMG.
On board the flight were 33 females comprising of children and infants while there were 115 male adults and four male children and seven male infants were brought back.
NEMA DG represented by the director of Special Duties, Alh. Nura Aliyu Bappa disclosed that among the women were 12 nursing mothers and four pregnant women.
Maihajja also revealed that the IOM/EU initiative had jointly assisted in training 6,950 returnees in various business skills while reintegrating them fully into the society.
The DG, however, charged the returnees not to be dampened by the negative experiences they had in Libya, adding they can still make the best use of their lives. He said:
“It is normal for human beings to face challenges but the way we handle or treat the challenges will determine the outcome, if you put these experiences in the dustbins of the past and with determination to be successful in your new endearvours, I assure you, success awaits everyone of you.”
IOM Programme Coordinator, Abraham Tamrat revealed that based on the recent research on migration matrix, there has been a downward reduction in irregular migrations.
This downward trend, he noted, was made possible by the relentless sensitization and awareness campaigns by international partners and national agencies on the danger of irregular migration.
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