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  • IOM applauds Nigeria’s migration reforms, disaster preparedness

    IOM applauds Nigeria’s migration reforms, disaster preparedness

    …as Shettima seeks stronger collaboration on migration, climate challenges

    The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has praised Nigeria’s efforts in strengthening migration governance and preparing for climate-induced disasters, describing recent initiatives by the government as remarkable steps toward resilience and sustainable development.

    The commendation came on Friday during a courtesy visit to Vice President Kashim Shettima by a delegation of the IOM, led by the organisation’s new Chief of Mission in Nigeria, Sharon Dimanche, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    In a statement issued by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, Dimanche expressed admiration for Nigeria’s “diverse and dynamic” response to the complex migration and environmental challenges facing its states. 

    “Since I came to Nigeria, what I have seen is remarkable. Every state is different. It’s like one Africa wrapped into one country,” she said.

    Particularly, she lauded the recent launch of the State Action Plan on Floods and the Framework for Anticipatory Action for Nigeria, highlighting them as strong indicators of the country’s commitment to mitigating displacement and vulnerability caused by climate shocks.

    In his remarks, Vice President Shettima called for deeper collaboration with development partners, warning that poverty, conflict, illiteracy, and environmental degradation are intricately linked to the country’s migration crisis.

    “There is an incestuous relationship between ecology and economy in sub-Saharan Africa. You cannot divorce the challenges of migration from climate-induced effects. Even the crises in the North-East, North-West and North-Central have direct links between poverty and violence”, the Vice President said.

    Drawing from his experience as a former governor of Borno State, Shettima emphasized the urgent need for integrated and inclusive solutions that go beyond emergency responses.

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    “I have worked with the IOM for a long time, from my days as Governor in Borno State, and I must commend your remarkable interventions in supporting our people. But much more pragmatic and all-inclusive solutions are needed,” he said.

    The Vice President appealed to the IOM to scale up its support to the North-Central region, citing the region’s vulnerability to climate-induced displacement and insecurity. 

    “I urge you to support us in the North Central, so we can have a win-win, workable solution that fosters unity and brings progress to our people,” he said.

    Shettima also stressed the need for gender empowerment, youth engagement, and land restoration projects, noting that building peace and sustainability must start with tackling root causes of migration.

    Quoting civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., Shettima remarked: “We must either learn to live together as brothers, or we are going to die together as fools. We are essentially one people with a common destiny, united by our common challenges. We have no business fighting each other. We should fight poverty, illiteracy, and gender disempowerment.”

    In response, Dimanche reaffirmed the IOM’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s durable solutions agenda, pledging continued assistance in areas including data provision, shelter support, climate adaptation programmes, and empowerment initiatives.

    “As I take over office, we seek the government’s guidance on areas to focus. One of our key priorities is working to provide sustainable solutions and opportunities for people affected by crisis,” she said.

    She further proposed a joint initiative with the Vice President’s office to pool resources for expanded efforts in migration governance, youth empowerment, and climate resilience. 

    “I will like to request for a special initiative where we can co-work with your office and mobilise resources for more durable solutions,” Dimanche stated.

  • Monkeypox: IOM seeks $18.5m support

    Monkeypox: IOM seeks $18.5m support

    The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has appealed for $18.5 million to fund the response to the spread of mpox across the Horn, Eastern and Southern Africa.

    The spread of mpox across the regions has increased the risk of infection for migrants who need “crucial” healthcare and other support ahead of an “anticipated surge” in cases,

    IOM, in a statement yesterday stated that migrants and other marginalised and highly mobile populations including those uprooted from their homes by natural emergencies and conflicts were far more prone to infection.

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    The UN migration agency said that they were far prone to infection because of poor living conditions and the “significant barriers” many often encounter in seeking help.

    “The spread of mpox across East, Horn and Southern Africa is a grave concern, especially for the vulnerable migrant, highly mobile populations and displaced communities often overlooked in such crises.

    “We must act swiftly to protect those at the highest risk and to mitigate the impact of this outbreak on the region,”  Amy Pope, IOM Director-General said.

    Mpox has affected people in African for more than a decade, the UN agency said.

  • IOM to construct transit shelters for Logo IDPs

    IOM to construct transit shelters for Logo IDPs

    The International Organisation for Migration IOM is to construct transit shelters for Internally Displaced Persons IDPs in Logo Local Government.

    IOM Shelter leader in Benue State, Aliyu Useni Garga, stated this during an interaction with Logo Local Government Council and Traditional Rulers at the local Government Headquarters Ugba, Benue state.

    Garga explained that the organisation would aside shelters intervene in psycho social and mental health, water hygiene, provision of Food and Non Food Items, (NFI), and commended the Benue State Government for considering the plight of  vulnerable people in the state.

    In a remark, Executive Secretary, Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), James Iorpuu, regretted that most of public primary schools, especially LGEA Central Primary School, Ugba and NKST Science Primary School, Anyiin, were occupied by IDPs for several years, thereby denying the pupils’ access to early education, hence the need for IOM’s intervention.

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    The SEMA Executive Secretary also solicited for additional land for SEMA to engage in merchandise farming for IDPs, which will facilitate their return to their ancestral homes.

    Also speaking, Adviser to the Governor on Sanitation, Hon. Sunday Shizum, expressed appreciation to the ES for facilitating the project to the area and assured of the support from Logo people to the policies of the Alia administration.

    Speaking separately, Chairman Caretaker Committee for Logo Local Government, Mr Benjamin Uzenda and Acting Ter Logo, Chief Enoch Ikyumen, all acknowledged the efforts of Governor Hyacinth Alia in catering for the well-being of the displaced persons and his durable plans and solutions to the lingering inter-ethnic crises.

  • IOM, Fed Govt assist 34,694 stranded Nigerian migrants in seven years

    IOM, Fed Govt assist 34,694 stranded Nigerian migrants in seven years

    Thirty-four thousand, six hundred and ninety-four stranded Nigerian migrants have been assisted to return home from April 2017 till date through the collaboration of the Federal Government and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

    IOM Awareness Raising Programme Officer, Cyprine Cheptepkeny, dropped the hint during a media training on Amplifying Women’s Voices in Migration Decision Making in Lagos yesterday.

    Cheptepkeny said that out of the 34,694 assisted voluntary returnees, 19,579 were male and 15,115 were female.

    She said that the returnees were evacuated from Libya, Chad, Morocco, Mali, Germany, Netherlands, Ghana, among others.

    According to her, 28,204 survivors were reintegrated, among which 16, 264 were male, and 11,940 were female.

    Cheptepkeny said that reintegration was a core activity of IOM Nigeria which assists migrants willing to return home and supports their reintegration.

    She said that the returnees received in-kind reintegration assistance, including vocational education and training to help them start an income-generating activity of their choice.

    The IOM official noted that the dynamics of the migration pattern had shifted, as data had shown an increased number of women migrating in the last few years.

    She said that the media was critical at framing migration narrative, advising media practitioners to ensure stigma-free language, promote balanced, inclusive news coverage and ensure media standards and ethics.

    Head, Migration Resource Centre Mrs. Maureen Ovie, said that data showed that 45 per cent of women travel independently, saying the present trend indicates the statistics would increase.

    Mrs. Ovie noted that many women have unrealistic expectations, lack of proper information on the migration process and procedures thereby exposing themselves to exploitation.

    She said that the government plays a critical role in increasing awareness on regular migration, counseling, training to boost employability and gender-responsive environment.

    According to her, the government will ensure fair recruitment practices and monitoring of private recruitment agencies, adding that recent findings showed that quacks hide under recruitment to traffick persons.

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    Head of Migration (Southwest), National Commission for Refugees Migrants and Internally displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Ms. Ijeoma Ifeobu, said the federal government was working assiduously to ensure right messages are promoted to reduce irregular migration.

    Ms. Enitan Ibironke, a lawyer and migration counsellor, said many people risk their lives attempting to reach Europe through irregular migration.

    Ms. Ibironke advised the media to focus on developing additional tools, resources and digital content on various platforms to assist women make informed decisions.

    Mrs. Rita Folawewo, Executive Director, Girls Inspired Development Network (GIDN), said the training seeks to enhance the capabilities of journalists in Lagos in amplifying women’s voices in migration decision-making processes.

    She said that the training addresses challenges faced by the media in strengthening the discourse; highlight resources, tools, and opportunities for the media and improve documentation of women’s stories for justice and human rights.

  • 7.1m need lifesaving aid in Northeast, says IOM

    THE International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said yesterday that 7.1 million people affected by the security challenges in the Northeast are in need of protection and life-saving assistance in the region.

    The UN agency in charge of migration also said the insurgency in the region has so far displaced about 1.8 million men, women and children, who presently cannot have access to water, shelter and other vital resources that make life comfortable.

    IOM Head of Information Attah Ikechukwu said in a statement in Abuja that the details are contained in the Humanitarian Response Strategy for Nigeria between 2019 – 2021.

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    Ikechukwu said: “In addition to the displaced population, 1.56 million individuals have returned to their communities since August 2015, due to the expanded presence of security forces. However, the infrastructure in these areas is still severely damaged or destroyed and essential services are yet to be fully restored.

    “People in Gwoza town, Borno State, for example, spend several hours a day under the scorching sun searching for water, often in unsafe and hand-dug wells. The lack of infrastructure leaves no other option as the limited available resources are overstretched by the needs of displaced and returnee populations.”

    The IOM Head of Information added that the international organisation has completed the drilling of an additional borehole in Damboa, as well as the rehabilitation of a community market in Konduga and two primary schools in Mandarari and Pulka benefitting approximately 6,000 individuals.

  • Libya deports another batch of 174 Nigerians

    Another batch of 174 Nigerians stranded in the North African country, Libya were on Thursday night deported. The deportees were received at the cargo wing of the Lagos International Airport by officials of National Emergency Management Agency.

    The Coordinator, of NEMA’s Lagos Territorial Office, Mallam Idris Muhammed noted that with this batch, the total number of stranded Nigerians deported from Libya is now 12,574. In addition, Muhammed said over 4,900 of the deportees have been trained on various skill acquisition and empowerment training by International Organization for Migration, IOM through Special Funding facilitated by the European Union.

    He said most of them have set up various businesses in their choice of occupation. He explained that Thursday’s flight was the 64 flights since the Programme of Assisted Voluntary Returnees initiated by European Union but being implemented by IOM started in April, 2017.

    The deportees were brought back aboard Al Buraq Airline in Boeing 737-800 aircraft with flight number UZ 389-390 and registration number 5A-DMG from Sebha City and arrived Cargo Wing of MMIA, Ikeja, Nigeria about 9:45 p.m.

    The deportees includes 62 adult females, 11 female children and 11 female infants, bringing the total number of females to 84 f while the males comprise 74 male adults, 12 male children and 15 male infants making it a total of 90 males .

    Whilst addressing the deportees on arrival, the Coordinator assured them of Federal Government’s readiness to continue supporting and collaborating with other Development Partners in providing enabling environment for the realization of their potential.

    He empahsised that FG will continue to strengthen her assistance to state and local government authorities in rehabilitating deportees into their communities.

  • IOM rescues 9,888 Nigerians from Libya, others

    THE International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has so far rescued 9,888 Nigerians, it was learnt yesterday.

    IMO said they were voluntarily returned from different parts of the world and most recently, Libya.

    IOM Chief-of-Mission Frantz Celestin gave the figure during his visit to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) Headquarters in Abuja.

    Nneka Aniagoh of NAPTIP Press and Public Relations Unit quoted Celestin as promising increased collaboration with NAPTIP, especially assistance to the returnees, who are victims of human trafficking.

    Aniagoh said: “Mr. Celestin, who came in the company of Saskia Kok and Elizabeth Poage, both from IOM, informed the Director-General of NAPTIP, Dame Julie Okah-Donli, that the visit was part of his familiarisation meetings with relevant partners and stakeholders tasked with curbing irregular migration and human trafficking in Nigeria.”

     

  • African Migrants rejected by Italy were tortured, raped – UN

    African migrants rejected by Italy in a standoff with the European Union on Aug. 15, said they had been held by smugglers for up to two years in Libya and many had been beaten, tortured and raped, the UN said on Tuesday.

    The 150 migrants, mainly Eritreans and Somalis, were rescued in the Mediterranean but waited 10 days while
    Italy’s anti-immigrant government refused to let them disembark, until Ireland, Albania and the Vatican
    agreed to accept them.

    A further 27 unaccompanied minors and 13 people needing urgent hospital treatment had earlier been allowed ashore in Italy, whose government had threatened to cut funds to the European Union unless other states took in the migrants.

    The UN International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said its staff had gathered testimony from the migrants.

    All were malnourished and exhausted and said they had been held against their will in Libya for up to two years, IOM spokesman Joel Millman told a UN briefing in Geneva.

    “In Libya they complained that many had been beaten and tortured by smugglers and traffickers seeking ransom money from their families in their countries of origin,” he said.

    “Italian doctors who attended all the women … reported that many of them said they had been raped while in Libya.”

    He said IOM believed thousands of migrants were still being detained – held in safehouses or warehoused, but getting people to the shore had recently become more difficult because of violence in the west of the country.

    A drop in the value of the Libyan dinar had also made it more difficult for sub-Saharan Africans hoping to earn enough in Libya to fund their sea voyage to Europe, prompting the smugglers to look for other nationalities with more resources.

    Italian Interior Minister Salvini, who has led a popular crackdown against immigration since his government took office in June, has said he was under investigation by a Sicilian prosecutor for abuse of office, kidnapping and illegal arrest over the migrant standoff.

  • 186 Nigerians return from Libya

    The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the European Union (EU) have evacuated 186 more Nigerians from Libya.

    The spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), South-West Zone, Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, disclosed this on Friday in Lagos.

    Farinloye said the returnees arrived in two batches at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on Wednesday and Thursday.

    He said,” Within 24 hours, NEMA has received 186 Nigerian returnees from Libya on two different flights at the MMIA, Lagos.

    “The flight with 154 returnees arrived the airport at 8:45p.m. on Thursday aboard a chartered Libya Airline with registration number 5A-DMG. They were received at the Cargo Wing of the airport.

    “The other 32 returnees arrived via a commercial flight, which landed at the International wing of the airport on Wednesday at 3:45a.m.”

    According to him, the returnees comprised of 99 female adults, 75 male adults, four children and eight infants.

    Farinloye said the new arrivals were those based in Libya but voluntarily decided to return home when opportunity came from IOM because of the current volatile state of the North African country.

    He disclosed that IOM had started training past returnees in batches in order to reintegrate them into the society.

     

  • NEMA receives 165 Nigerians from Libya

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Thursday received 165 Nigerians who voluntarily returned from Libya.

    The returnees arrived aboard a chartered flight operated by Buraq Airline with registration number 5A-DMG.

    The aircraft landed at 9:45 p.m. at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

    The returnees included 68 female adults, six female children and 89 male adults and one male infant.

    They were handed over to the South West Zonal Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Alhaji Yakubu Suleiman, by the Head of International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Mission in Nigeria, Ms Enira Krdzalic.

    Krdzalic said IOM in collaboration with the European Union (EU) had repatriated 7,746 Nigerians from Libya under its voluntary return and rehabilitation programme.

    According to her, 600 returnees have been rehabilitated already, while another 200 are to be rehabilitated.

    She urged the Nigerian government to improve efforts towards positively engaging the youths by partnering with more international agencies to create employment opportunities in the country.

    NAN