The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Libya

  • 10,500 Nigerians rescued from Libya-2

    NATIONAL Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) Director General Dame Julie Okah-Donli said yesterday that 10,500 Nigerians have been rescued from Libya.

    The figure includes the 3,500 so far rescued by the Federal Government and over 7,000 rescued by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

    Mrs. Okah-Donli explained that the figure might not do justice to the real figure because returnees were being brought back almost every week.

    She said the agency has so far recorded 359 convictions against traffickers since inception and 43 this year alone.

    The NAPTIP Director General added that 10 potential Russia-bond human trafficking victims were rescued at the Lagos airport on their way out.

    She spoke with reporters yesterday in Abuja at a news conference to mark the agency’s 15th anniversary and the 2018 World Day against human trafficking.

    Mrs. Okah-Donli added that the agency has written to the Ministry of Sports, inviting people who returned from the World Cup in Russia to report to them.

    Her words: “With regards to Libya, so far we have been able to rescue 3500. IOM has rescued over 7,000. It’s a work in progress and so giving figures might not be doing justice because almost every week, we have returnees to Nigeria. So, it is not easy to just pin a figure at it because we may get a plane tomorrow or the next.

    “For the reintegration of the victims, we have 10 shelters. We give them psychosocial support. Those who want to go to school are given the opportunity. Those who want acquire some skills, they do that and we reintegrate them back into the society at the end of the day.”

    On success rate of conviction, the NAPTIP Director General said: “As of today, 359 convictions, we have made thousands of arrests, prosecutions and investigations. But so far, we have gotten 359 convictions in 15 years and 43 in the last one year.

  • 10,500 Nigerians rescued from Libya

    …As FG rescue 10 potential Russia bond-trafficking victims

     

    So far, over 10,500 Nigerians have been rescued from Libya.

    This number includes the 3500 so far rescued by the Federal Government and over 7000 rescued by the International Organization for Migration.

    Director General, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) Dame Julie Okah-Donli explained that the figure might not do justice to the real figure because returnees are brought back almost every week.

    She said that the agency has so far recorded 359 convictions against traffickers since inception and 43 this year alone.

    The DG also revealed that ten potential Russia bond human trafficking victims where rescued at the Lagos airport on their way out.

    Address newsmen yesterday in Abuja, at a press conference to mark the agencies 15th anniversary and the 2018 World day against human trafficking.

    Okah-Donli added that the agency has written to the Ministry of Sports, inviting people who returned from the world cup in Russia to report to them.

    Her words, “With regards to Libya so far we gave been able to rescue 3500, IOM has rescued over 7000 it’s a work in progress so giving figures might not be doing justice because almost every week we have returnees to Nigeria so it is not easy to just pin a figure at it because we may get a plane tomorrow or the next.

    Read Also: Another batch of 160 Nigerians return from Libya

    “For the reintegration of the victims we have ten shelters, we give them psychosocial support, those who want to go to school are given the opportunity, those who want acquire some skills, they do that and we reintegrate them back into the society at the end of the day.

    “Success rate of conviction, as of today 359 convictions, we have made thousands of arrests, prosecutions, investigations but so far we have gotten 359 convictions in 15years and 43 in the last one year.

    “On the issue of the world cup, we have written to the Ministry of Sports to invite those who left for the World cup and returned to report themselves to NAPTIP so that we will be sure they have returned, for those who have returned whose return tickets where cancelled because about 150 or so came back a gew weeks ago and claimed their tickets where cancelled which got them stranded and the Federal Government had to bring them back, for people like that we need to find out who bought the ticket for them, iur investigation officers know what to do and we wont spare anyone found wanting because the question is if you intended for them not to come back, then what was the idea behind it?

    “For Russia 2018, ten potential victims of trafficking where rescued on their way out from the Lagos airport, five suspects where arrested and more arrest have been made also, we are still investigating and prosecution is to commence very soon.”

  • Libyan Coastguard intercepts 156 migrants East of Tripoli

    Libya’s Navy said on Thursday that the North African Nation’s Coastguard intercepted 156 migrants on a rubber boat.

    They were intercepted off its Coast East of Tripoli, the latest operation amid a surge in such perilous journeys to Europe.

    The migrants were stopped on Wednesday off the coast of Khoms, the navy said in a statement.

    Read Also:186 Nigerians return from Libya

    Ten children are among the intercepted migrants, who are natives of Sudan, Mali, Ghana, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger and Cameron, the navy said, adding that they were handed over to the anti-illegal immigration authorities.

    The rescue operation comes two days after a Spanish NGO accused the Libyan coastguard of leaving two women and a child to die at sea after a rescue operation that involved 158 migrants.

    The three migrants were found floating near a wrecked dinghy, only one of whom was alive, the Proactiva Open Arms charity said.

    Following the claims, Libyan navy spokesman Ayoub Qasim issued a Facebook statement, saying the coastguard saves the lives.

    “Over the past years, the coastguard rescued more than 80,000 migrants,’’ he said.

    “All the disasters that have happened have been caused by the human traffickers who only care about profits and the presence of such irresponsible non-governmental organisations in the region,’’ he added.

    Libya descended into chaos in 2011 after its leader Moamer Gaddafi was toppled in an armed revolt and has since become a major transit route for migrants trying to reach Europe by sea.

    Rival armed militias and political bodies have vied for dominance and control of the country’s oil reserves under competing governments, two in Tripoli and one in the eastern city of al-Bayda.

  • Another batch of 160 Nigerians return from Libya

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) says it has received a batch of 160 assisted voluntary returnees from Libya who were stranded in failed attempts to reach different European countries.

    The Planning Officer of NEMA, Mr Segun Afolayan, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Friday that the returnees arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, at 9.45p.m. on Thursday.

    Afolayan said that the returnees landed at the Cargo Wing of the airport aboard Libyan Airline flight with registration number 5A-DMG.

    He said that they were brought back through the assistance of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

    “After profiling, the returnees comprised of seven female adults and 153 males,” Afolayan said.

    He urged the returnees to put their experiences in the volatile North African country behind them and forge ahead with their lives.

    “They have another opportunity to make a new start of posterity and abundance. Nobody can tell it better than them that there are no greener pastures elsewhere.

    “The best option is to live a dignified life, make their families happy and make the country proud by contributing their own quotas, “ Afolayan said.

    He added that the federal and state governments and development partners should create a more conducive atmosphere where all Nigerians could prosper.

  • 1500 Nigerians in Italian prisons – Envoy

    The Italian Ambassador to Nigeria, Stefanou Pontesilli, says no fewer than 1500 Nigerians are serving jail terms for various offences in Italy.

    Pontesilli who made the disclosure in an interview with newsmen in Abuja said the number was huge.

    ”In Italy we have about 1500 Nigerians in jail for various offences. It is a big number.

    ”We sometimes send them back to Nigeria once they finished their terms because they have not behaved well, ” he said.

    He however denied reports that Italy sometimes send Nigerian migrants from Italy to Libya.

    ”Never, we never sent anyone not even one single person to Libya.

    Read Also: Buhari to Nigerians: Your sacrifices won’t be in vain

    ”Some Nigerians are stuck in Libya because they were never able to cross over to Italy, but all those who went to Italy no one, not even one was ever sent back.

    ”All Nigerians who have reached Italy and are behaving well have no problem.

    ”Not one of them not even one has heard of being  sent back to Libya,” he said.

    According to him, thousands of Nigerians unable to cross from Libya to Italy have been stuck in Libya.

    ”Thank God the government is doing a lot to repatriate them through chattered flights.

    ”Thanks for the help from the European Union and the International Organisation for Migrations that are slowly repatriating them back to Nigeria,” he said.

    The envoy said that the relationship between Italy and Nigeria remained stronger.

    ”That is why Italy has been doing so much on the migration by saving tens and thousands of the Nigerians’ lives when crossing the Mediterranean.

    ”Authority has been doing so much by taking them to Italy, feeding them,  getting them jobs, giving them house and trying to give them a new life,” Pontesilli said.

    He said that Italy had also done a lot in trying to help Nigeria maintain security and stability.

    ”This to Italy is very important, the stability and the security of Nigeria is our foremost consideration.

    ”We think that without a stable secure country there cannot be development.

    ”So that’s why we stand strongly behind President Muhammadu Buhari trying to establish a strong, safe and stable Nigeria.

    ”This to us is the number one priority of the country, we are doing all we can to support this,” he said.

    The envoy disclosed that the Italian government had been involved in training many Nigerian officials from the military, police and immigration.

     

    NAN

  • 157 including nine pregnant women return from Libya

    Another batch of 157 Nigerians, including nine pregnant women, on Friday voluntarily returned from Libya with the assistance of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

    Mr Abraham Tamrat, Programme Manager, Migration Management Unit, IOM, Lagos, confirmed the development to Our Reporter  in Lagos.

    Tamrat said that the Nigerians arrived at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at 4.15a.m. aboard a chartered flight.

    He said that the returnees comprised 89 males and 62 females, including three children and three infants, with six medical cases.

    Tamrat said that the Nigerians returned from the Libyan cities of Janzour, Salah Adden and Tajoura.

    According to him, they were received by officials of government agencies including the National Emergency Management Agency and the Nigeria Immigration Service.

    He said that officials of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and the police were also on ground to receive the returnees.

    He said that the IOM had assisted the return of no fewer than 8,500 Nigerians from the North African country where they had been stranded enroute Europe.

    Tamrat noted that Friday’s arrival brought to 514, the number of Nigerians who have voluntarily returned from Libya in June under the Voluntary Return Assistance Programme.

  • I intend going to France for prostitution, says Libya returnee

    A 22-year-old Libya returnee (nameswitheld), on Wednesday told newsmen in Lagos that she made the perilous journey to the North African country en route France to join a prostitution ring.

    The returnee, who hails from Edo, was among the 171 Nigerians that voluntarily returned from Libya on Tuesday night.

    She spoke at the Hajj Camp of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

    Reports have it that the returnees, including nine pregnant women, were brought back aboard a Buraq Airline with registration number 5A-DMG.

    The returnees comprised of 70 female adults, 90 male adults, three children and eight infants.

    They returned through the assistance of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

    Narrating her ordeal, she said that her parents were peasant farmers, who were struggling to survive the hardship in Nigeria.

    She said: “When I heard about the possibility of making changes in the lives of my family, I told my parents and they didn’t object.

    “I wanted to go to France and I knew it was prostitution that I would do, but I didn’t mind as long as I can make my parents comfortable.’’

    Read Also: Libya unveils plan to confront illegal immigration

    According to her, on getting to Libya, after many sufferings on the road from Kano, I was captured by some Libyans and my trafficker had to pay money to secure my release.

    The returnee narrated that she was again held by another group and had to call her parents to raise money in order to secure her freedom.

    “They sold everything they had to send the money to me, but I was able to return to Nigeria through the assistance of IOM when we could no longer proceed to my destination.

    “I was made to swear that upon reaching France and start working, I will pay my trafficker £12,000 and the herbalist £1,000 to settle all the expenses paid on me by my trafficker and the herbalist.

    “This was because I couldn’t raise any money for the journey.

    “Now, I am back in Nigeria without anything to show for it. My parents will be worst hit.

    “How can I help my parents to recover?’’ she said.

    NAN reports that 186 Nigerians came back voluntarily on June 1 from the volatile North African country where they had been stranded en route to Europe.

  • Libya deports 221 illegal immigrants

    The Libyan authorities have deported 221 illegal immigrants from African and Asian countries as part of the immigration department’s voluntary return programme.

    The department said in the statement that 163 Somali nationals had left for their home country on an airplane of local airliner Al-Buraq.

    The department said the deportation was in cooperation with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

    “This is the first direct flight to leave Tripoli’s M’etiga international airport to the Somali capital Mogadishu,” the department said.

    In addition, the department said, 30 migrants from Bangladesh and 28 from Pakistan were sent to their countries of origin.

    Libya has become a preferred point of departure for immigrants hoping to reach Europe after domestic conflicts erupted in the North African country in 2011.

    The voluntary return program is carried out by the IOM in Libya to help illegal immigrants stranded in Libya return to their countries of origin.

    Some 20,000 illegal immigrants returned home via the program in 2017.

    NAN

  • ‘100 pupils trafficked to Libya in four months’

    One hundred pupils of Idogbo Secondary School, Benin, Edo State, were trafficked to Libya in the last four months, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Godwin Obaseki on Human Trafficking and Illegal Migration Mr. Solomon Okoduwa has said.

    Speaking in Benin during an advocacy programme, Okoduwa said teachers in the school, concerned about how the college had become a harvest ground for traffickers, gave him the figure.

    He said the government would not allow the evil to thrive.

    “The government will step up its campaign against trafficking. The Task Force Against Human Trafficking will be on the trail of the human traffickers,” the aide said.

    He warned pupils to be wary of the antics of traffickers, who are bent on deceiving them to embark on dangerous journeys.

    “Henceforth, report anyone who tells you to travel to Europe. They are simply taking you through Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea and you may eventually end up in Libya.

    “The number of pupils who have been trafficked from your school in this short period is overwhelming.

    “The truth is that many of them might have been imprisoned there or facing one challenge or the other.

    “Taking the route of Sahara Desert and other illegal routes is hellish.

    “Many died of hunger,  many were drowned in Mediterranean Sea while in search of greener pastures.

    “Worse still, the families of those people who died on their journey were made to pay for the travel expenses, when unknown to them, their loved ones have gone to the great beyond.

    “If anyone tells you to travel abroad through Libya, tell him or her capital ‘NO’.  If you must travel for any reason,  travel the right way.”

    NAN reports the government received 3,400 Libya returnees in the last six months.

  • Libya unveils plan to confront illegal immigration

    The Libya Government is set to implement an integrated plan involving all security services to confront illegal migration through sea and land, in order to reduce the immigrants flows.

    Minister Mohamed Al-Marhani, made this known during a football event between local football veterans and a group of immigrants from different African nationalities, which was organised by the Libyan anti-illegal immigration department in the capital Tripoli.

    “Our plan is based primarily on activating desert patrols, especially in the south and south-west of the country, from which most immigrants infiltrated illegally through borders with neighboring countries,” he said.

    “The plan also activates passport investigations,” which to play a considerable role in checking the official documents of migrants, Al-Marhani added.

    Al-Marhani said that there is also a plan for the coast guard to carry out rescue operations in the Mediterranean.

    Read Also: Immigration suspends two for alleged human trafficking

    “We call on all neighboring countries, from which large numbers of immigrants come or cross through, to firmly stand with Libya on the security level to stop the flows of immigrants,” the under secretary said.

    “Libya pays a high price as a result of the terrifying numbers of immigrants that enter the country on a daily basis.”

    Illegal immigration flows from Libya towards European shores increase “particularly in the summer” due to the improved weather conditions, said Al-Marhani.

    Thousands of illegal migrants choose to cross the Mediterranean towards European shores from Libya due to the state of chaos in the country following the 2011 uprising.

    According to official figures from the Libyan anti-illegal immigration department, more than 4,000 migrants were rescued off the Libyan coast during the first quarter of the year.