LIBYA PRISONS:956 NIGERIANS RESCUED IN 3 MONTHS, AS NiDCOM WARNS AGAINST UNSAFE MIGRATION PATHWAYS

LIBYA PRISONS: OVER 956 MORE NIGERIANS RESCUED IN THREE MONTHS, AS NiDCOM CONTINUES TO WARN AGAINST DANGEROUS MIGRATION PATHWAYS

Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), says that over 956 Nigerians have been evacuated from Libya in the first quarter of 2025 alone, courtesy of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Nigeria and the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons (NCRMI).

The breakdown shows that 683 of the evacuees were females, 132 males, 87 children, and 54 infants.

The returnees were brought back home in six tranches from January to March 2025. The six trips included 152 on January 28th, 145, 180, and 159 on February 11th, 19th, and 25th, respectively, while 144 and 176 came in on March 4th and 18th, respectively.

In the last few years, well over 15,000 stranded Nigerians have been evacuated back home by the Federal Government and the International Organization for Migration.

Dabiri-Erewa reiterated the Commission’s persistent advice to Nigerians to avoid dangerous and deadly migration routes such as Libya, a war-torn country dealing with many struggles.

“Because of the delicate political situation in Libya, we countlessly caution Nigerians to avoid Libya as a pathway to Europe, not just Libya but other irregular routes.”

She urged Nigerians to follow legal and regular means of migration, noting that some rescust Nigerians from Libya still return to Libya or more dangerous routes to get into Europe.

Dabiri-Erewa stressed that the Federal Government will continually uphold the interest, dignity, and fundamental human rights of Nigerians at home and in the diaspora, irrespective of their socio-economic, ethno-cultural, or religious backgrounds, and called for collaboration with government agencies, NGOs, the media, and other relevant stakeholders to join hands in raising awareness on the dangers of irregular migration.

E-signed,
Abdur-Rahman Balogun,
Director of Media, Public Relations, and Protocols Unit, NiDCOM, Abuja.