The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Libya

  • Libyan slavery: Reps’ panel rues lacking interagency collaboration

    Libyan slavery: Reps’ panel rues lacking interagency collaboration

    The House of Representatives has identified lack of interagency collaboration as largely responsible for the migration of Nigerians abroad through illegal routes.

    According to the lawmakers, the spate of illegal migration through the desert eventually encouraged the slavery incidence recently uncovered in Libya.

    At a meeting between Committees on Foreign Affairs and Human Rights and stakeholders yesterday, the lawmakers said the situation in Libya has made it imperative to find ways of addressing the situation.

    At the meeting were the Nigeria Head of Mission, Libya, Iliyah Fachano as well as officials of Department of State Services (DSS), National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the National Human Rights Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

    The joint Committee was mandated by the House to unravel circumstances that led to the death of 26 Nigerian girls at the Mediterranean Sea.

    Chairman of the joint Committee, Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje said following the disturbing report from Libya, the country must find ways of addressing the situation.

    Saying that lack of inter agency collaboration among the various security agencies in the country was a major reasons for illegal migration of Nigerians to other countries, Elendu-Ukeje noted, “A situation where many of them either end up been killed or enslaved such as the recent revelation in Libya as reported by the Cable News Network (CNN) which has drawn world wide condemnation.”

    Read Also:  144 more Nigerians return from Libya

     Deputy Chaurman of the joint Committee, Edward Pwajok, said security agencies in the country have to come out with a lasting solutions to the menace of human trafficking and illegal migration.

    In his remarks, The Head of the Nigerian Mission in Libya, Fachano said that the Libyan situation was not new, that it had long been in existence.

    The role of some Nigerians who were living in Libya was described as despicable as they were found culpable of being actively involved in selling off their kinsmen.

    They also said being a State with an unstable government contributed largely to the situation

    While the committee continues its findings, it requested more submissions on the situation in Libya by the various agencies.

  • 257 Nigerians arrive from Libya

    257 Nigerians arrive from Libya

    A few hours after 144 Nigerians voluntarily returned from Libya, another aircraft carrying 257 others yesterday landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

    Spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), South West Zone Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye said the returnees arrived aboard a Libyan Airlines aircraft at the Cargo Wing of the airport at about 1.30am.

    He said they were assisted back to Nigeria by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the European Union (EU).

    Farinloye said the returnees comprised of 65 women, 179 men, seven children and six infants.

    He confirmed that four of the returnees had medical cases and were promptly taken away on an ambulance for treatment.

    The NEMA official said the returnees were received by officials of NEMA, Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) , the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the  Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

    But, the Advanced Peoples Democratic Alliance (APDA) yesterday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a state of emergency on youth unemployment.

    In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary Mr. Tosin Adeyanju, the party said in the light of thousands of Nigerian youths trapped in the slave market in Libya, it had become imperative that the government creates cottage industries to engage the youth in productive ventures.

    “We appreciate the response of the Federal Government in airlifting stranded Nigerians and victims back home.

    “However, there is an urgent need for the government to come up with a strategic plan that will discourage young Nigerians from going through this route in the near future.”

  • 144 more Nigerians return from Libya

    144 more Nigerians return from Libya

    Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, on Tuesday joined officials of some government agencies as they received a fresh set of Nigerians flown home from Libya.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that no fewer than 144 Nigerians voluntarily returned home aboard a chartered Buraq Airlines aircraft with registration number 5A-DMG.

    The aircraft landed at about 6.45pm at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

    The returnees were assisted back by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the European Union (EU).

    NAN reports that the Wife of the Governor of Lagos State, Mrs Bolanle Ambode, who represented the Wife of the President, Haija Aisha Buhari, was also present at the Hajj Camp area of the airport as the Nigerians returned.

    The South West Zonal Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Alhaji Suleiman Yakubu , who gave a break down of the returnees, said they were made up of 97 males, 39 females, two children and six infants.

    Addressing newsmen, Dabiri-Erewa, commended the IOM for facilitating the return of the Nigerians.

    She, however, noted that there was need to keep the tempo of awareness high in order to stop Nigerians from embarking on the perilous journey in search of greener pastures in Europe.

    One of the returnees, Mr Godsent Jatto, from Edo State, told NAN that he had a harrowing experience in Libya after being sold into slavery by fellow Nigerians.

    He said :”I am so happy coming back to Nigeria. I will never dream in my life to pass through Kano to Libya again”.

    Jatto said it was sad that some Nigerians also lured their fellow brothers to Libya only to get them into human trafficking.

    He said some were sold to the Arabs who will now start calling the Nigerians’ families in the village demanding for money for them to be released.

    According to him, traffickers usually lie to people back in Nigeria that their relatives have crossed to Europe whereas some of them have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea.

    “My advice to Nigerians that still want to embark on this journey is that they should not try it. Keep doing anything you are doing here because your country is your country,” he said.

    Another returnee, Ms Caroline Ishola, an aspiring actress from Ekiti State, described her journey to Libya as a misadventure.

    Ishola said: “My experience was bad. It is a very dangerous country. I was an actress before embarking on this journey and I paid the person who took me N400, 000 at first and paid more when I got to Libya.

    “I was sold in Libya but thank God it was not into a connection house and at the end of the day the place was raided by the Police and we were arrested and that was how I got back.”

    The fresh returnees came back days after a batch of 150 Nigerians voluntarily returned on Nov. 30 from the volatile North African country where they had been stranded enroute Europe.

    Before then, many had also been assisted back home in batches.

    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)

  • FG identifies 2,778 Nigerians in Libya’s detention camps

    FG identifies 2,778 Nigerians in Libya’s detention camps

    The Federal Government says it has a record of 2,778 Nigerian migrants registered in “accessible” detention camps in Libya, ready for repatriation.

    The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement signed by the Spokesperson Mr Tiwatope Elias-Fatiile on Tuesday, said the country’s embassy in Libya had been visiting detention camps to identify Nigerians for registration.

    The ministry stated that those registered were issued Emergency Travel Certificates.

    The ministry also explained that the embassy in collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) repatriates 250 migrants weekly and had returned 3,000 of them so far.

    “From the 2,778 registered Nigerians who are still in detention camps, another set of 250 Nigerian migrants will be arriving today at Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos at 7.00.p.m. to be received by NEMA officials.

    “The Embassy, in collaboration with the IOM repatriates 250 Nigerian migrants by flight to Lagos weekly – each flight can accommodate only 250 passengers.

    “The repatriation is a continuous exercise and the Embassy routinely issues the requisite travel documents to the migrants.

    Read also: FG to fly home stranded Nigerians in Libya

    “The Embassy will continue to engage the legitimate government in Libya and other stakeholders in addressing the plight of Nigerian migrants in that country.”

    The Ministry further said that the Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama had invited the Nigerian Embassy’s Head of Mission, Mr Iliya Fachano, to Abuja for consultations.

    “He is in Abuja already and during the period of the consultations, arrangements have been made for him to address press conferences on the issue.

    “This would afford the Nigerian public the opportunity to hear from him directly.”

    The ministry, however, advised intending Nigerian travellers to “avoid Libya at this period, because of the dangers they may encounter in the process of their journey”.

    The ministry also 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.

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

    While condemning the slave market in Libya, the ministry said it would engage the UN, African Union, European Union and other stakeholders to ensure that the perpetrators were brought to justice.

    “It violates the fundamental human rights of the victims and it is unacceptable to the civilised world.”

    NAN

  • Libya: Action, not rhetoric 

    SIR: No sane person or group of persons would support slave trade in this contemporary age. The ugly happenings in Libya have and will continue to attract wide condemnations by every right thinking person irrespective of our human biases. To place a human being on the scale for bargain is not only inhuman and senseless but it has once again revealed how much our collective humanity has been threatened by the forces of evil in today’s world.

    But beyond these condemnations lies our perennial failure to evolve deep thoughts as per the real issues that give rise to this modern day slave trade in Africa. The truth is that the desire to have a good life is the only identifiable reason for a human being to attempt the risk of crossing the Mediterranean Sea to some location where they believe life is worth living. Unarguably, things are difficult in Nigeria and indeed other African countries but I do not support desperation of any model.

    Again, instead of issuing the usual condemnations and ordering investigations, Nigerian leaders at all levels should move beyond this level of sympathy. They should be sympathetic to the people by executing programmes and policies that will lift the greater majority of the ordinary people from extreme poverty, hunger and all forms of deprivations.

    Our lawmakers at all levels should show sympathy to the people by making positive laws that will improve the socio-economic status of the people. Our judicial system should dispense justice to all manner of people without any fear or favour. These are the forms of sympathy Nigerians desire from their leaders.

    Instead of writing long essays and condemnations and voting billions for fruitless investigations, our leaders should rise to ensure that public resources meant to build roads, bridges, hospitals, schools, markets, stabilise power and provide portable water and other social services are not looted.

    Our expertise in condemning slave trade should extend to the credibility of the electoral system where citizens will be free to choose the right set of people to govern them. A system that breeds accountable leadership and not the usual arrogant and insincere leadership that holds the citizens in great contempt.

    No sane person apart from the extremely greedy ones will opt to travel long distances for days and nights across many African countries and ultimately the Mediterranean just to afford the basic needs of life. No sane person will consent to a life of constant abuse, torture, forced labour and sexual exploitation when better alternatives are available back home. Our sympathy must now move beyond mere rhetoric to concrete actions

     

    • Uwemedimo Udo, 

    Uyo, Akwa Ibom .

  • 1,295 Nigerians returned from Libya in November – NEMA

    1,295 Nigerians returned from Libya in November – NEMA

    The National Emergency Management Agency ( NEMA ) says a total of 1,295 Nigerians voluntarily returned from Libya in November after being stranded in the volatile North African country enroute Europe.

    The Nigerians returned in various batches between Nov. 6 and Nov. 30 with the assistance of the International Organisation for Migration ( IOM ) and the European Union ( EU ).

    The Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency ( NEMA ), Alhaji Mustapha Maihajja, made the disclosure while receiving a fresh batch of 150 Nigerians who arrived the country on Thursday.

    The returnees were brought back aboard a Boeing 737-800 aircraft with Registration Number: 6A-DMG.

    The aircraft landed at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at about 9.15pm.

    The returnees comprised of 13 female adults and one teenage girl while the male were 133 adults, two teenage boys and one baby boy.

    They were received on behalf of Maihajja by the South West Zonal coordinator of NEMA, Alhaji Suleiman Yakubu .

    Also on ground to welcome the returnees back home were officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service ( NIS ) , the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons ( NAPTIP ), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria ( FAAN ) and the Police.

    NAN

    Read Also: NEMA hands over relief materials to flood victims in Enugu

  • APC S/Africa lauds FG`s decision to return Nigerians from Libya

    APC S/Africa lauds FG`s decision to return Nigerians from Libya

    The All Progressives Congress ( APC ), South Africa chapter has commended the Federal Government for its decision to evacuate hundreds of Nigerians migrants stranded in Libya.

    President Muhammadu Buhari, at the European Union-African Union summit in Ivory Coast, said that government would ensure that stranded Nigerians in Libya are brought home safely.

    The government said that 242 Nigerians had returned home on Tuesday while more than 4,000 others stranded in Libya have been safely brought back this year.

    Mr Abiodun Oguntuase, Coordinator of the APC in South Africa, spoke on the telephone from Johannesburg, on Thursday that government`s move was a step in the right direction.

    “The APC South Africa chapter commends President Buhari for the action he took in ensuring that stranded Nigerians in Libya are brought home safely.

    “ It is a welcome development aimed at saving the lives of our people who are unable to return home. It shows also that government is pro-active on the welfare of Nigerians at home and in the diaspora,” he said.

    Oguntuase said that the South Africa chapter of the party was in support of major decisions taken by the Federal government, especially, the fight against corruption.

    According to him, the government has shown the zeal and determination to fight corruption in the country.

    “We are happy that the international community has seen government`s desire to fight corruption.

    “For the first time in our country, a government is out to win the war against corruption.

    “We appeal to Nigerians to support the federal government achieve this great objective and our country will reap the benefits,” the coordinator said.

    NAN

  • 127 Ghanaian illegal migrants evacuated from Libya – UN agency

    127 Ghanaian illegal migrants evacuated from Libya – UN agency

    The International Organisation for Migration ( IOM ), a related organization of the United Nations ( UN ) on Thursday said it evacuated 127 Ghanaian illegal migrants from the volatile situation in Libya.

    Kojo Wilmot, a national officer of IOM said the aircraft carrying these migrants arrived Ghana around 10:15 p.m. on Wednesday local time.

    Wilmot said that there was one female and two minors among the rescued migrants.

    “We promote orderly migration, but these people were caught up in a volatile situation and were being held under various forms of inhumane treatment.

    “We, therefore, intervened to protect their human rights and return them home in a dignified and safe manner,” Wilmot explained.

    Majority of the returnees, the official said, were not from Accra, Ghana’s capital, but from Takoradi, 218 km west of the capital and Kumasi, 280 km north of the capital.

    Others are from Sunyani, 400 km north of the capital and other areas across the country.

    The IOM, therefore, provided them with a means of transportation back to their final destinations and would be supporting their re-integration into their communities.

    “Due to the inhumane conditions they were being kept, most of them would need psychosocial counselling.

    “We would also work together with government of Ghana and the EU mission in Ghana to support them with basic livelihood to help enhance their integration process,” he added.

    Wilmot explained that since these immigrants were mostly undocumented, who used illegal means to enter Libya and they were forced to do menial jobs, mostly “Malaga” (plastering buildings) but were usually handed over to the police when they pursue those, who hired them for payment.

    “One Ghanaian, who had painted a complete house went to the owner to receive payment, but instead the owner called the police, who came to arrest him.

    “While trying to escape from the police, the Ghanaian was knocked down by a vehicle,” the official said.

    He added that there was also sexual violence against the female migrants being held in Libyan detention camps, where they were captured and being kept.

    IOM has identified three more detention camps across Libya with at least 266 Ghanaians among the detainees.

    “We will work with all stakeholders to ensure safe and humane return of these Ghanaians and other sub-Saharan African migrants in these conditions.

    “Considering the conditions in Libya, most of them come to us voluntarily seeking help to return home.

    “The situation is dire and we invite all stakeholders to get their hands on deck to help in bringing back these migrants to their final destinations,” he indicated.

    Xinhua/NAN

  • OPEC may include output quotas for Nigeria, Libya – Oman Oil Minister

    OPEC may include output quotas for Nigeria, Libya – Oman Oil Minister

    OPEC and other oil-producing states could set quotas on oil production for Nigeria at 1.8 million barrels per day and for Libya at one million barrels per day, Oman ’s Minister of Oil and Gas Mohammed Rumhi said Thursday.

    Later in the day, the oil and energy ministers of all the parties to the oil output cut deal between the OPEC and a group of non-cartel states will hold a meeting in Vienna to discuss the future of the accord and its potential extension.

    Ahead of the meeting, the Austrian capital hosted the session of the Joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee ( JMMC ) established to control the implementation of the accord.

    “I think they will try today to put a number for them [Libya and Nigeria], to try to get an agreement.

    “Like last [time] you remember, I think, [the quota of] Nigeria was 1.8 [million barrels per day], [and the quota of] Libya – like one million barrels per day.

    “So maybe today we will try to confirm that,” Rumhi said.

    The oil producers’ JMMC on oil output cuts has recommended to extend the deal between OPEC and non-OPEC states by nine months, the minister told reporters answering a corresponding question.

    OPEC and several non-cartel oil producers reached a deal in the Austrian capital of Vienna in 2016, agreeing to cut oil output by a total of 1.8 million barrels per day in an effort to stabilise global oil prices.

    Non-OPEC states pledged to jointly reduce oil output by 558,000 barrels per day, with Russia pledging to cut production by 300,000 barrels daily.

    In May, the deal was prolonged for nine more months, until the end of March 2018.

    Libya and Nigeria, both OPEC member states are exempted from the obligation to cut production within the deal.

    NAN

    Read Also: Budget 2018 at risk as OPEC mulls capping Nigeria’s output at 1.8m bpd

  • LNA-linked groups appear responsible for E/Libya killings – HRW

    LNA-linked groups appear responsible for E/Libya killings – HRW

    Human Rights Watch ( HRW ) said the bodies of 36 men found near the eastern Libyan town of al-Abyar in October appear to have been summarily executed by armed groups loyal to Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA).

    Local police found the bodies on a main road about 50 km east of Benghazi in an area controlled by the LNA.
    Shortly afterwards, the LNA said it was launching an investigation.

    Libya is divided between rival governments and armed factions.

    The LNA controls most of the east, where Haftar has expanded his power over the past three years, waging a long campaign against Islamists and other opponents for control of Benghazi.

    Haftar’s buy-in is seen as crucial for any effective political deal to unify the oil-rich North African country, and he has been increasingly courted by Western powers.

    The bodies found near al-Abyar were the latest in a number of such cases in eastern Libya.

    Relatives of six of the victims told HRW they had been seized from their homes on different dates by armed groups loyal to the LNA in Benghazi or other locations, the U.S.-based group said in statement.

    HRW said all the relatives said that the victims bore gunshot wounds and had their hands tied behind their backs.

    The human rights group said that families had been prevented from putting up tents outside their houses in Benghazi to receive guests during a traditional three-day mourning period.

    It cited a forensic investigator who reviewed pictures of 23 of the bodies as saying the injuries were consistent with executions at point-blank range.

    “The Libyan National Army’s pledges to conduct inquiries into repeated unlawful killings in areas under their control in eastern Libya have so far led nowhere,” said Eric Goldstein, HRW’s deputy Middle East and North Africa director.

    “The LNA will be condoning apparent war crimes if their pledge to investigate the gruesome discovery in al-Abyar proves to be another empty promise.”

    An LNA spokesman gave no immediate comment.

    The LNA has said it is investigating the commander of an elite forces unit who is sought by the International Criminal Court for allegedly executing dozens of prisoners, though his exact whereabouts remain unclear.

    NAN