The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Sunday received another batch of 329 stranded Nigerians from Agadez, Niger Republic.
The Head of Operations, NEMA Kano Office, Dr Nura Abdullahi, disclosed this while receiving the returnees at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano.
The returnees arrived at the airport around 10:50 a.m. in six luxury buses.
Abdullahi said the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nigerian Mission in Niger Republic, and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), facilitated their voluntary repatriation.
“The programme was meant to ensure the safe and dignified return of stranded Nigerians,” he said.
He stated that the returnees comprised 165 males, 72 females, 46 boys, and 46 girls from Kaduna, Jigawa, Kano, Borno, Katsina states, and others.
Abdullahi added that after physical verification and profiling, the returnees would be transported back to their respective states.
The returnees were provided with food, while those with health issues received medical attention.
He advised the returnees and other Nigerians to seek better livelihoods within the country and avoid the dangers of irregular migration.
Abdullahi urged the returnees to become advocates against irregular migration by sensitising other youths on its risks.
One of the returnees, Mrs Fatima Sani, a widow and mother of five from Nasarawa Local Government Area of Kano State, said she travelled to Libya in search of a better life.
“My husband died two years ago, leaving me with five children. We had no food to eat and could not pay our house rent. That was why I travelled to Libya to make money,” she said.
Sani said she was attacked by thieves who took her money, adding that life in Libya was very difficult.
“I worked as a house help in Libya, doing chores such as sweeping and washing dishes. Life was not easy there,” she said.
Another returnee, Mrs Saihatu Idris, said she travelled to Libya with her two children to sell ready-made clothes.
“This was my first time travelling to Libya. Bandits attacked us and stole my clothes and money. I only spent 24 days there. I now realise Nigeria is safer,” she said.
She appealed to the government to provide them with grants to support their families and rebuild their lives.
The returnees were received by officials of NEMA, SEMA, the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs, and the Red Cross Society, among others.
