The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Libya

  • 249 more Nigerians back from Libya

    249 more Nigerians back from Libya

    The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the European Union (EU) on Thursday facilitated the return of 249 more Nigerians from Libya.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the returnees arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at about 9.47pm aboard an Afriqiyah Airbus A330-300 with Registration Number 5A-ONR.

    They were received by the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Alhaji Mustapha Maihajja.

    Maihajja, who was represented by the South West Zonal Coordinator of NEMA, Alhaji Suleiman Yakubu, implored the returnees to be champions of positive change by supporting the campaign against irregular migration.

    He said they should be able to enlighten other Nigerian youths on the dangers of seeking greener pastures outside the country through illegal means based on their experiences in Libya.

    “You should let them know that you are always second citizens outside your country and your rights can be violated without opportunity for you to seek redress at all,” Maihajja said.

    No fewer than 3,000 Nigerians have voluntarily returned from Libya through the IOM supported programme in the last few months.

    NAN reports that 387  had, on Tuesday, returned from the volatile North African country where they had been stranded enroute Europe.

    Many return with gory tales of their experiences in the country.

    As at the time of filing this report, another batch of Nigerians was being expected from Libya, as their aircraft was said to be on the way from Tripoli. (NAN)

  • ISIS threatens U.S. over Jerusalem decision

    ISIS threatens U.S. over Jerusalem decision

    Islamic State of Iraq and Syria ( ISIS )has threatened attacks on U.S. soil in retaliation for the Trump administration’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

    One of the group’s social media accounts reported on Thursday without much details on one of its accounts on the Telegram instant messaging service titled: “Wait for us” and “ISIS in Manhattan”.

    The group said that it would carry out operations and showed images of New York’s Times Square and what appeared to be an explosive bomb belt and detonator.

    “We will do more ops in your land, until the final hour and we will burn you with the flames of war which you started in Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Syria and Afghan. Just you wait.

    “The recognition of your dog ‘Trump’ (sic) Jerusalem as the capital of Israel will make us recognise explosives as the capital of your country,” it said.

    Washington triggered widespread anger and protests across the Arab world with its decision on Jerusalem.

    The disputed city is revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims alike, and is home to Islam’s third holiest site.

    It has been at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for decades.

    Read also: UAE urges Arabs, Muslims to unite over U.S decision on Jerusalem

    Islamic State was driven out of its Iraqi and Syrian capitals this year and squeezed into a shrinking pocket of desert straddling the border between the two countries.

    The forces fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria now expect a new phase of guerrilla warfare there.

    Militants including people claiming allegiance to Islamic State have carried out scores of deadly attacks in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the U.S. over the past two years.

    NAN

  • Libya’s death chambers

    Libya’s death chambers

    The search for the golden fleece or greener pastures did not start today. In the past, our fathers embarked on journeys to distant places to better their lot. They travelled to the United Kingdom (UK) or the United States (US) mostly. Those countries were then ever ready to welcome strangers and a lucky traveller could end up taking up the citizenship of either country. But the trips were planned ahead of time. The traveller did not just wake up and embark on the journey.

    It was something the entire family even knew about. Thus, in some cases, it was done with fanfare. “Our son is travelling to obodo oyinbo”, the proud parents will announce to wellwishers, who will in turn pray for his safe return after a successful sojourn abroad. But now, things have changed. Many of our youths travel out of the country without their parents’ knowledge. To them, there is nothing wrong in that. Their argument is that since the society has failed them, they should be allowed to take their destiny in their own hands.

    Nobody is quarrelling against that since their parents took similar actions in the past in order to make it in life. What many are saying is that these youths should look before they leap. Unfortunately, they are just taking the plunge without a deep thought. Whereas in the past, our fathers had well laid out plans before going abroad, the same is not the case today. The difference is in our youths’ craze for fast buck. They believe that the streets of London, New York and Rome are paved with gold, which are there for the picking.

    And without giving it a thought, they jump at any invitation to travel to Europe – where they believe it is very easy to make it. In the past, our fathers had their credentials with which they could further their education abroad. Again, the same cannot be said of many of our youths who are desperate to go abroad to seek better life. What better life are they going to look for without first laying the proper foundation at home? The sordid tales by returning Nigerians from Libya in the past few weeks have brought to the fore our failure as a nation.

    In many of our compatriots’ desperation to cross to Europe, they went through Libya or the Mediterranean Sea. Before leaving home, they are told that they will pass through Libya because it is an easy route to Europe. Since they are already dreaming of Europe, they accept what the intermediaries call the ‘’terms and conditions’’ of the trip. The terms are usually killing, but because they think they are smart, they do not bat an eyelid before agreeing to them and by so doing, they unknowingly sign their death warrants. It is when they get to Libya that the reality of their foolhardiness usually dawns on them, but by then, it is too late to reverse the situation.

    They end up in slave camps, prostitution houses and other dark places where life is brutish and short. They found themselves in trouble because they wanted a short cut to Europe. There is no short cut to greatness. It is either you work and pray for it or go through hell if you want to short circuit the process. It is a shame that as big as we are as a country, we cannot cater for our citizens. This is the reason for the mad rush abroad. But it is not enough reason for people to walk into fire with their eyes wide open. This is what those trying to cross into Europe through Libya or the Mediterranean are doing. They are paying a big price for their actions. A girl said she slept with 18 men in one night and was paid N15,000 out of which her sponsor took N10,000, leaving her with N5000. Yet, she did not get to Europe, the continent of her dream.

    A man said he watched Nigerian girls being raped by some Arabs. Many were impregnated, with some returning home, clutching their babies. Many are wont to blame the government for their nasty experience, like one of the returnees, who noted ‘’…the truth is this country has nothing to offer us. Those that have various degrees are on the streets, no jobs for them. The attempt to travel to foreign land is as a result of bad leadership…’’ If things are rosy at home, many would not seek to go out in search of a better life. We are a blessed nation which should be the envy of others. But we have misused our God given resources and made our citizens objects of ridicule  in Libya and other parts of the world.

    Many of our compatriots’ experience in Libya should ginger the government into action to turn things around for the betterment of society. If virtually all the returnees’ plaintive cries do not touch the government’s heart, nothing will ever move it to reshape the country for the greater good of all.

  • Nigeria, Libya move to boost oil output in 2018

    Nigeria, Libya move to boost oil output in 2018

    Less than two weeks after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)’s decision to extend oil production cuts, Libya and Nigeria, have indicated their intent to raise output in 2018.

    While several ministers at the November 30 meeting of the OPEC suggested the two nations had joined the output-curbing deal, both are working to add to their peak production from 2018.

    On Friday, oil company Total said its new Egina field offshore Nigeria was on track to start in 2018, adding 10 per cent to the country’s production.

    The field will have a capacity of 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) and launch in the fourth quarter of 2018, counterbalancing production constrained by aging pipelines, perpetual theft and sabotage.

    “That could certainly change the dynamics,” Ehsan Ul-Haq, head of crude and products at a consultancy outfit, Resource Economist, told Reuters.

    The Nigerian petroleum ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the Egina field startup, and whether production elsewhere would be curtailed as a result.

    On Saturday, the head of Libya’s United Nations-backed government met the head of Libya’s National Oil Corp (NOC) and the governor of Tripoli’s central bank to discuss how the corporation could get more cash to raise oil output next year.

    The NOC received a quarter of its requested budget in 2017, hampering efforts to sustain oil output near one million bpd.

    Any additional funds could help make crucial repairs to the country’s energy infrastructure, a regular target for militant attacks, and boost output above the roughly one million bpd mark where it currently stands.

    The developments may come as a surprise to market observers, who, after the November 30 meeting, believed Nigeria and Libya had agreed to participate in the OPEC agreement by imposing official caps at their peak 2017 production levels.

    Instead, the two countries merely provided their production outlook for 2018 and an assessment that the combined total would not exceed 2.8 million bpd, their forecast output for 2017, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

  • Three docked for killing journalist in Malta

    Three docked for killing journalist in Malta

    A Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday charged three men with murder over a car-bomb blast that killed anti-corruption journalist, Daphne Galizia, court officials said.

    Galizia died instantly when her car was blown up as she drove out of her home on October 16, a killing that shocked Malta and raised concern within the EU about the rule of law on the tiny Mediterranean island.

    All three pleaded not guilty at the arraignment, which was attended by her husband, Peter Galizia.

    The men were named as Vince Muscat and brothers Alfred and George Degiorgio.

    It was not immediately clear whether police thought they had acted on their own or were hit men working for others.

    Galizia wrote a popular blog in which she relentlessly highlighted cases of alleged graft targeting politicians of all colours, including Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. Vince Muscat was not a relative.

    Police arrested 10 men on Monday in connection with their investigation into the killing. The other seven were released on bail.

    A close friend of Galizia said that she did not think the journalist had ever investigated the three men charged on Tuesday.

    “She wrote about government officials, politicians and wealthy business types,” the friend said, declining to be named because of the sensitivity of the case.

    The Malta government had offered a one million euro reward leading to information on the murder.

    It also called in the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Europol to assist in investigations.

    Maltese media said investigators had homed in on the suspects following telephone intercepts , known as triangulation data – that included the call from a mobile phone which triggered the car bomb.

    Malta, the smallest nation in the EU, has been engulfed by a wave of graft scandals in recent months, including accusations of money laundering and influence peddling in government – all of which have been denied.

    Galizia exposed many of these cases and was loved by her readers as a fearless, anti-corruption crusader.

    Critics saw her as a muck-raking fantasist and she had been hit with 36 libel lawsuits in the nine months preceding her death.

    Much of her criticism was leveled against Prime Minister Muscat and his leftist Labour party, which won power in 2013 after a nearly quarter of a century of uninterrupted rule by the conservative Nationalist Party.

    In the months before her death, she had also regularly targeted senior Nationalist figures.

    Italian newspapers have speculated that she might have fallen foul of men, who were making a fortune by smuggling fuel out of lawless Libya.

    However, her friend said she had never looked into the illegal trade and any mention of it in her blog related to articles already published elsewhere.

    NAN

  • Why Nigerian victims of slavery cannot sue Libya, by Falana

    Why Nigerian victims of slavery cannot sue Libya, by Falana

    •Fed Govt urged to accept African Court’s jurisdiction 

    Lagos lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) yesterday explained why it will be impossible for aggrieved Nigerians, who are victims of slavery to sue the Libyan government.

    He explained that the Federal Government is yet to deposit its declaration accepting the jurisdiction of African Court on Human and Peoples Rights at the court’s registry in Arusa, Tanzania.

    Falana gave the Federal Government till December 31 to deposit its declaration accepting the court’s jurisdiction.

    He said: “If this request is not granted before December 31, 2017, I will not hesitate to approach the Federal High Court for an order of mandamus to compel the Federal Government to deposit the declaration at the registry of the African Court with a view to empowering Nigerian citizens to secure the enforcement of their human rights in the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights”.

    The senior lawyer said this yesterday in a statement in Lagos titled: “Why Nigerian victims of slavery cannot sue Libya”.

    Falana said unless government deposits its declaration with the registry of the African Court, it will be impossible for aggrieved Nigerians who are victims of slavery to sue the Libyan government.

    The activist, however, advised government to demand for payment of monetary damages by the Libyan government to the victims in view of the facts and circumstances of the illegal human trafficking in Libya.

    Noting that Libya has not formally accepted the jurisdictional competence of the African Court, Falana contended that the victims of the illegal slave trade could have submitted a petition to the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights and thereafter apply that the communication be referred to the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights for judicial determination.

    The senior lawyer, who admitted that there was nothing to prove that Libyan government has been involved in the illicit trade, contended that the government was liable on account of its failure to curb the trade in slaved, which he described as crime against humanity.

    In addition to the demand for payment of compensation to the victims of the illegal slave trade in Libya, Falana advised the Federal Government to take urgent steps to facilitate access to the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights by aggrieved Nigerian citizens and non-governmental organisations by depositing the declaration accepting the jurisdiction of the court.

    He said this is in pursuant to Article 1 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, which imposed a duty on the Government of Nigeria to recognise the rights, duties and freedoms enshrined in the Charter and undertake to adopt legislative or other measures to give effect to them.

    Falana noted that over the past 20 years, his law office has been inundated with complaints from Nigerians who were brutalised in some African countries. Falana explained that some of the complaints pertain to the barbaric killing of 18 Nigerians during an armed invasion of the Nigerian Embassy in Guinea Bissau on October 8, 2013.

    According to him, it is common knowledge that Nigerians living in South Africa have been subjected to xenophobic attacks, which have led to loss of lives and destruction of properties on several occasions while other Nigerian have been brutalised or killed gruesomely in some other African countries.

    He noted that of recent, there have been reports of young men and women who were killed in North Africa while crossing the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea on their way to European countries for greener pastures.

    Falana said in the process of such trips, many of the travellers have been captured and sold into slavery in Libya.

    He noted that Federal Government has ordered the evacuation of thousands of Nigerian youths held in notorious slave camps in Libya.

    He added that Nigeria has itself to blame for the tragedy in Libya for blindly supporting “the illegal resolution of the United Nations Security Council which authorised the invasion of Libya to effect a regime change”.

    “Today, not less than five armed gangs are laying claim to the leadership of the country. It has been confirmed that the arms and ammunition looted from the armory in Libya were sold to the dreaded Boko Haram sect. It is also true that the shameful slave trade which Nigeria is battling with is part of the fallout from the removal and brutal killing of President Muammar Gaddafi by armed gangs supported by the allied forces of imperialism led by the United States under President Barrack Obama,” he said.

  • Libya appeals to U.S. to ease travel ban imposed on citizens

    Libya appeals to U.S. to ease travel ban imposed on citizens

    Libya’s internationally recognised government has appealed to the U.S. to ease a travel ban imposed on its citizens by President Donald Trump.

    The Libyan Foreign Ministry made the call in a statement.

    “The Libyan Foreign Ministry, through its embassy in Washington, has begun to take measures to lift Libya from the list of countries and to ease the restrictions on Libyan citizens,” the ministry said in a statement.

    Libya is one of six Muslim-majority countries subject to the travel ban.

    Other countries are Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Syria.

    On Monday the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the ban to take full effect while litigation over its ultimate validity continues.

    The ministry said the ban was also discussed at a meeting between Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Siyala and U.S Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke on Monday. (Reuters/NAN)

  • IOM, EU evacuate 164 more Nigerians from Libya

    IOM, EU evacuate 164 more Nigerians from Libya

    Two days after 401 Nigerians voluntarily returned from Libya, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the European Union (EU) on Friday facilitated the return of 164 more.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the new returnees arrived at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at about 12.34 a.m.

    The returnees arrived in a chartered BURAQ airline with Registration Number 5A-DMG.

    They were received on behalf of the Federal Government by the Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Alhaji Mustapha Maihajja.

    Mahaija, who was represented by the South West Zonal Coordinator of the agency, Alhaji Suleiman Yakubu, gave the breakdown of the returnees as 155 male adults, five female adults and four children and infants.

    He thanked the IOM and the EU for their humanitarianism and enjoined the returnees to learn from the bitter lessons they learned in the course of their unpalatable sojourn.

    Mahaija charged them to make use of the various schemes being put in place
    by the Federal and State governments to reintegrate themselves into the society.

    “There’s no place like home and Nigeria is peculiar nation that God has endowed with bountiful resources that everyone can harness and prosper,” he added.

    One of the returnees, Mr Emmanuel Keshi, lfrom Delta told newsmen that he dropped out of the University to embark on the perilous journey in August.

    Keshi lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for ordering the evacuation of all Nigerians stranded in the volatile North African country.

    He said :”I learnt that Buhari has directed the evacuation of all Nigerians from Libya.

    “I thank the President for this because the boys (Nigerians) in Libya are really suffering and lacking human rights as they are being treated as animal.

    “The President’s directive is very important because of the coming election in Libya.

    “I don’t wish to hear that Nigerians are being used as human shield in clashes between the various Libyan groups in case of post-election violence over there.”

    NAN reports that the returnees were also received by officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) , the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). (NAN)

  • Charge d’Affaires – Some Nigerians unwilling to return from Libya

    Charge d’Affaires – Some Nigerians unwilling to return from Libya

    Charge d’Affaires of Nigeria in Libya, Mr Illiya Fachano, says some Nigerians in Libya have refused to be repatriated inspite of the “unfavourable situations.”

    Fachano revealed on Thursday that  “not all of them (Nigerians) want to come back home”.

    “Before you can assist them, they will have to sign a consent form, after which emergency travel certificates are issued.

    “I want the public to know that we have some Nigerians who are not willing to return inspite of the unfavourable situations and the fact is that we can’t get them on the flight without their consent”.

    “Migration is a natural and has always happened but becomes an issue when there are people migrating illegally meaning the migrants arrive without proper documentations and conceal their identity.

    “What we do is identify the Nigerians in the camps, register them then issue them an emergency travel certificate but those who happen to be sick get medical treatments before being confirmed to fly.

    “The Internationl Organisation for Migration ( IOM ) has rallied support of the European nations and particularly Italy for the Libyan Coast Guards who are particularly ordered to prevent boats that smuggle migrants and refugees from Libya to Europe.

    “The fact that the coast guards at the Mediterranean Sea are professionally trained and well funded by the EU, they have captured many people who are trying to illegally cross to Europe and returned them to Libya.

    “Unfortunately, we have noticed that in every batch of people brought back to Libya from Europe or the Mediterranean Sea, a larger number of the migrants come from Nigeria because of our population causing us to have much more Nigerians to be repatriated,’’ he said.

    The charge d’affaires said it is worrisome that with all the efforts of the government to rescue stranded migrants, more Nigerians are still trying to go to these places hoping that they will be lucky in achieving their European dream.

    Read also: 3250 have been repatriated from Libya – FG

    The Federal Government said yesterday, that it has so far identified 2,778 Nigerians trapped in the Libyan detention camps.

    Of this figure, government said 250 were repatriated on December 5.

    So far the government said 3,250 have so far returned from the Libyan enclave.

    Foreign Affairs ministry spokesman, Tiwatope Elias-Fatiile, said that the 2778 were Nigerians

    identified in detention camps that embassy officials had been visiting.

    Those registered in these camps, the spokesman said, While the government indicated that the repatriation exercise was a continuous exercise.

    The government said it would continue to engage the legitimate government in Libya and other stakeholders in addressing the plight of Nigerian migrants in that country.

    NAN

     

  • 3250 have been repatriated from Libya – FG

    3250 have been repatriated from Libya – FG

    The Federal Government said 3250 Nigerians have so far been repatriated from Libya in recent times.

    This is even as 300 other Nigerians are to be repatriated from Libya every week.

    Charge d’Affaires of Nigeria in Libya, Mr Illiya Fachano revealed this in an interview and said government continue to make efforts to save Nigerians that are trapped in Libya.

    “We, the embassy of Nigeria in Tripoli, Libya, have been doing our best to register Nigerians.

    “We have visited  the detention camps, and also collaborated with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to repatriate migrants weekly.

    “We also ensure that we are up to date with the number of Nigerians in specific detention camps.

    “I want it to be clear that the mission and Nigerian government have been doing this long before the CNN report.’’

    “We have asked the Nigerian presidency to provide us with an extra airplane to assist with quick repatriation of registered Nigerians who are willing to return.

    “I want the public to know that we have some Nigerians who are not willing to return despite the unfavorable situations and the fact is that we can’t get them on the flight without their consent.

    Fachano said that the  repatriation exercise would wont  be a temporary thing – as he promised it would be a continuous exercise.

    He said that the government would continue to engage the legitimate government in Libya and other stakeholders in addressing the plight of Nigerian migrants in that country.

    Read also: Obasanjo condemns resurgence of slavery in Africa

    The Foreign Ministry has urged citizens to reach the Nigerian Embassy in Libya for assistance through these emergency numbers: +218910144487, +218925099384 and +218917953365.

    “The contact email addresses for the embassy and the ministry are: nigeria@nigeriantripoli.org and help@foreignaffairs.gov.ng.

    The ministry said that the embassy had received requests for intervention from some relations of the victims based in Nigeria through these contacts.

    NAN