The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Libya

  • 17 Nigerian migrants sue Italy for returning them to Libya

    Seventeen Nigerian migrants who survived a deadly sea crossing last year have filed a lawsuit against Italy for violating their rights by supporting Libya’s efforts to return them to North Africa, their lawyers said on Tuesday.

    The plaintiffs, two of whom have returned to Nigeria, petitioned the European Court of Human Rights last week, Violeta Moreno-Lax, a legal advisor for the Global Legal Action Network, told reporters. She was among four lawyers and several humanitarian groups involved in the case.

    The migrants, who were not identified, said Italy violated multiple articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, including that people not be subjected to torture, held in slavery, or have their lives put in danger.

    The United Nations, rights groups and news organizations say migrants face these conditions in Libya.

    According to Global Action Network, on 6 November 2017, the Libyan Coast Guard interfered with the efforts of the NGO vessel Sea-Watch 3 to rescue 130 migrants from a sinking dinghy. At least twenty of them died.

    The Libyan vessel was donated by Italy a few months before. The intervention was partly coordinated from Rome by the Maritime Rescue and Coordination Centre (MRCC), an Italian Government agency. An Italian navy ship was nearby, part of the Mare Sicuro operation which has operated in Libyan territorial waters facilitating interceptions by the Coast Guard.

    The Libyan Coast Guard ‘pulled back’ the survivors to Libya, where they endured detention in inhumane conditions, beatings, extortion, starvation, and rape. Two of the survivors were subsequently ‘sold’ and tortured with electrocution.

    The two Nigerians said they were starved of even basic food and healthcare, before returning to Nigeria with the International Organization for Migration.

    All the plaintiffs were rescued at sea, but at least 20 migrants drowned when a part of their rubber boat deflated.

    German humanitarian ship Sea Watch 3 rescued 59 people that day and collected the body of a small child, all of whom were brought to Italy.

    The Libyan naval vessel, which had been donated by Italy and was operated mainly by a crew trained by the EU, returned 47 to Libya. In a video shot by Sea Watch, the Libyans are seen beating the migrants they intercepted with a rope, and the vessel then speeds off with a man clinging to the side.

    This is the first lawsuit to be filed against Italy for its decision to back the Libyan Coast Guard. The country lost a case in the same court in 2012 for directly handing over migrants intercepted at sea to Libyan authorities.

    The legal process can take up to three years but should the migrants win they can be awarded damages, and Italy would be forced to abandon its policy of equipping, training and coordinating the Libyan Coast Guard, Moreno-Lax said.

    “Using the Libyan Coast Guard as a proxy to turn back migrant boats is just a new way of camouflaging (Italy’s) strategy of fighting irregular migration in the Mediterranean by trapping them in what the Italian Foreign Ministry itself has qualified as ‘the hell’ of Libya,” Moreno-Lax said.

    The lawsuit highlights a stand-off between humanitarian groups seeking to save lives on the open seas and Italian authorities backed by the European Union who are trying to stop people from making the dangerous crossing in the first place.

    A spokesman for Italy’s Interior Ministry, which has spearheaded the policy, had no immediate comment.

    Libyan naval spokesman Ayoub Qassem said the coast guard does its job within the terms agreed with Italy.

    “Regarding the abuse and violations against the migrants, these are all considered as individual acts … We can’t say Libyan state institutions commit these acts,” Qassem said.

    SEA CROSSINGS DOWN
    Italy has supplied Libya with seven refurbished vessels so far, and three more have been promised, while the EU has trained about 190 Libyan coastguards.

    Italy is also coordinating communications with the Libyan Coast Guard about possible boats in distress, according to court documents filed recently in Sicily.

    Between 2014 and 2017, more than 600,000 migrants arrived on Italian shores, but crossings have fallen dramatically since Italy and Libya signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at stemming the migration flow in February of last year.

    During the first five months of this year, arrivals from Libya fell more than 80 percent versus last year to 6,700 during, official data show. Over the same period, the Libyan Coast Guard intercepted almost 6,000 migrants and refugees. In 2017, the Libyans turned back almost 19,000.

  • 1,213 Nigerians returned from Libya in first quarter

    THE Federal Government repatriated 1,213 Nigerians from Libya.

    Charge d’Affaires of Nigeria in Libya Mr. Illiya Fachano made this known in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday.

    He said the government, with the help of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), was able to repatriate Nigerians from Libya to Nigeria safely.

    “The IOM has been very supportive and helpful in our aim at ensuring that these Nigerians, who were stranded in Libyan camps, are able to return home safely.

    “I think that Nigerians are becoming more aware of illegal migrations and we hope to see a reduction in the number of people caught in such predicaments. However, we will continue to protect and salvage our people,’’ he said.

    He added that the IOM was also supporting in the rehabilitation of the Libyan returnees, by providing funds and vocational training.

    An estimated 3,500 Nigerians were successfully repatriated from Libya in 2017.

  • Stopping the menace of Human Trafficking

    Human Trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the traffickers or others.

    This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extraction of organs or tissues, including for surrogacy and ova removal; it’s occurs within a country or trans-nationally.

    The recent repatriation of the denizens of our dear nation from countries like Libya, Spain, Italy etc., is a pointer to the fact that human trafficking have eaten deep into the moral, social and economic fabric of our country.

    There is an urgent need to curb this menace.

    Human Trafficking is a crime against the person because of the violation of the victims rights of movement through coercion and because of their commercial exploitation.

     According to the research made by the International Labour Organization ( ILO ) in 2012 was about 21million victims are trapped in modern day slavery, that 14.2 million (68%) were exploited for labor,4.5 million (22%) were sexually exploited and 2.2 million (10%) were exploited in state imposed forced labour.

    National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons ( NAPTIP ) as an agency is saddled with the onerous responsibility to bolster its tracking and monitoring apparatus in order to sanitise not only our physical space, but also the squalid mentality that breeds and encourages human trafficking and exploitation especially amongst the youths.

     

    TYPES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING

    1. Children Trafficking
    2. Sex Trafficking
    3. Forced Marriage
    4. Labour Trafficking
    5. Trafficking for organ trade

       

    STRUCTURAL FACTOR

    1. Poverty & globalization
    2. Political & institution challenges
    3. Commercial demand for sex

     

    EFFECT ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING

    1. Psychological
    2. Health
    3. Societal
    4. Economic effect

    Below are some of the ways in which human trafficking can be prevented in our society:

    1. Pray
    2. Learn
    3. Read good books
    4. Express your concern to your political representatives
    5. Support local law enforcement
    6. Be responsible to consumers
    7. Be alert when traveling
    8. Trust your gut instincts
    9. Man up!
    10. Woman up!
    11. Speak up!
    12. Host a dinner
    13. Sponsor a child
    14. Get involved
    15. Protect by prevention
    16. Give
    17. Use your talents
    18. Set an example
    19. Think outside the box

    It is imperative we join forces and resources together as a people to stop human trafficking in our society. Governments should encourage and collaborate with private and nongovernmental organisations to educate and enlighten our citizens on the dangers of trying to cut corners in order to travel out of the country.

  • FG repatriates 1,213 Nigerians from Libya in Q1 of 2018 – Envoy

    The Federal Government has repatriated 1213 Nigerians  from Libya in the first quarter of 2018.

    The Charge d’Affaires of Nigeria in Libya, Mr Illiya Fachano, made this known in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Thursday.

    He said that the federal government with the help of the International Organisation for Migration ( IOM ), have been able to repatriate Nigerians from Libya and to Nigeria safely.

    “The IOM has been very supportive and helpful in our aim at ensuring that these Nigerians who were stranded in Libyan camps are able to return home safely.

    “I think that Nigerians are becoming more aware of illegal migrations and we hope to see a reduction in the number of people caught in such predicaments however, we will continue to protect and salvage our people,’’ he said.

    He added that the IOM was also supporting in the rehabilitation of the Libyan returnees, by providing funds and vocational training.

    An estimate of 3500 Nigerian were successfully repatriated from Libya in the year of 2017.

  • CHOGM: Stop de-marketing Nigeria, PDP tells Buhari

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to show leadership and stop allowing his re-election interest to further de-market the nation and block Nigeria’s chances of accessing international help in critical sectors.

    In a statement on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party faulted the President’s claims when he told the British Prime Minister, Theresa May that he’s not preoccupied with the 2019 general election.

    According to the opposition party, the world is already aware that President Buhari’s 2019 campaign is already on stream.

    The statement said, “All over the world, well-meaning leaders relegate their personal interests, accept responsibility in the face of failure and use every opportunity to seek help and remedy a bad situation.

    “Nigerians are therefore miffed that instead of presenting the true state of affairs in our country under his watch, particularly, the comatose economy and worsened insecurity, President Buhari, obviously in a bid to give an impression of performance, chose to understate the challenges, thereby jeopardizing the chances of securing much needed international support for the country.

    “We are shocked that rather that engaging his international hosts on ways to pull our economy from the biting recession, President Buhari opted for self-praise, brandishing unsubstantiated record of achievements, thus stalling possible beneficial bilateral discussions and engagements in that area.

    “Is it not a disservice that President Buhari is sounding brass in London instead of seeking solution to the woes the poor policies of his administration have plunged our nation into?

    “In the last three years, under his watch, there have been little or no direct foreign investments; critical infrastructure has collapsed, with multinational companies relocating to other countries. Nigeria is no longer among the first ten investment destinations in Africa, leading to mass closure of businesses, massive job losses and biting poverty in the country.

    “Furthermore, is it not preposterous that President Buhari told the British Prime Minister that his administration is achieving food security when in truth, we are facing a major food crisis in Nigeria, with prices of staple food, particularly rice, now beyond the reach of the citizens?

    “Additionally, we are sure that the British Prime Minister will be pleasantly amazed over President Buhari’s success claims on security as the international community is aware that security concerns have worsened under his watch, with daily bloodletting and marauding of communities turning our nation into a large killing field”.

    The PDP expressed surprise that the President failed to seize the moment to open serious bilateral talks on practical strategies to end the scourge and ensure the safety for Nigerians, especially given his recent declaration that the marauders were deserters from Libya.

    “In spite of his belief to the contrary, it is obvious that President Buhari is completely preoccupied with his 2019 re-election ambition for which governance and the welfare of Nigerians have completely taken the back seat.

    “Finally, we hope that President Buhari would have the opportunity to address the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) and we implore him to use the august occasion to present the true state of affairs in our dear country and seek help, so that Nigeria will access the necessary assistance from the international community”.

  • They put shampoo in our private parts – Libyan returnee

     It was a touchy revelation session on Saturday when about seven Libyan returnees gave an account of their experiences on the agonizing trip to Libya in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
    The session  was led by Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo in a dialogue between seven Libyan returnees and himself at the maiden Youth Migration Summit themed “Curbing Youth Irregular Migration.”
     Ubong Rosemary, mother of four shared her story.
    “I am a native of Delta. I was living in Lagos before I lost my husband in an car crash. After I lost him; things became very hard for me and my children. I could not pay house rent or school fees for my children, so my children dropped out and I went back to help my mother who was a food vendor in the village in her one room apartment . We had a lot issues and quarreled. She had an accident and at point could not cook.
    “I decided to go somewhere far because I could not provide for my kids. I wanted to go far from my predicament and met a lady who introduced me to a Madam. On the way to Libya; I lost my way and contact. They were just carrying me with the people- I was like somebody lost. I didn’t know where I was going.
    “I made it to Sabat and saw our fellow men and women selling women into prostitution. I was sold in Tripoli and not Sabat. I was not able to pay the cross money over the Mediterranean. They sold me to connection house. Someone else bought me.”
    “We were there for days until they pushed three boats into the Mediterranean. I saw two boats capsized before my very own eyes. Someone kidnapped us and jailed us.
    “I was about to be killed as it was the very day I was to be killed that IOM raided us and saved us from death.
    “What they did to us was very bad. The use sponge along with harmful chemicals like shampoo to clean the private parts of women. They push it into the women’s wombs and the wombs fall out, after that, they will put the womb back in again and urge women to continue to sleep with the men there.”
    Rosemary momentarily broke down in uncontrollable tears and was  comforted by Obasanjo who urged her to continue to tell her story.
    She finally said that she could not forgive herself for abandoning her four children with her mother who was still alive and taking care of them in Edo state.
    “I haven’t seen my children, except for just once.”

  • Obasanjo bemoans plight of Nigerians in Libya, urges leaders to halt it

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Saturday  bemoaned the “horrifying” plights of Nigeria migrants still trapped in various prisons and illegal cells in Libya and Europe.
    Obasanjo said he knew all along that the suffering of Nigerians in the North African country of Libya and Italy was bad and pathetic, but added that he did not know it was as “terrifying and horrifying” as narrated by the returnees.
    The two time President who is the chief promoter over 3,000,000 member Coalition for Nigerian Movement (CNM), made this known at the 2018 Youth Migration Summit during an interactive session with seven Libyan returnees.
    With tearaOne of the returnees Obasanjo that he witnessed his sister raped serially, saw his elder brother drown when the boat ferrying him and 124 other immigrants, capsized in the Mediterranean Sea while another returnee, a woman, also narrated how she was sold severally by traffickers  and initiated into a prostitution ring for four years before she was eventually deported.
    The summit with the theme: Curbing Youth Irregular Migration, was organised by the Youth Development Centre, an arm of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library(OOPL), Abeokuta, Ogun State.
    Obasanjo called on World leaders to halt the confusion, lawlessness and human tragedy going on in Libya.
    “Libya is a rogue state. Libya is almost a failed state full of  criminals and  militias. Virtually no one could be held responsible for  crimes in Libya.
    ” Now, there are two  governments in Libya, two national Assemblies, two National banks. What is the way forward,” he quarried.
    He also urged Nigerian leaders and governments at all levels to urgently put measures in place at home to give the youth hope, and prevent them from embarking on hazardous and life – threatening journey abroad.
    “The experience is hazardous, unpleasant, tasking, very dangerous, the lessons learnt are the most important. I was in Italy recently and the  Nigerian Ambassador there told me  that there are 1600 Nigerians in Italian prisons. All of them are youth.
    “I wanted to go there but I learnt the process is too long, but the story of the Libyan returnees here is more graphic, what is the solution?
    “We have to do what we should at home to prevent you(returnees) from taking the type of risk you took. You thought travelling to Libya would make better, but what have you
    got?
    “Pains, stress, death, deformity and anguish. Going by the desert or by the Mediterranean is not the solution.
    “People don’t want to go back to Nigeria. They don’t want to go back home, they abuse you and keep asking: Is there light in your country, is there running water? Even as bad as things are here, it is still better here.
    “Migration is ordained by God, whether Christian or muslim , migration is ordained by God, God told Abraham to move, leave your home and move to another land. Is that not migration? One of the greatest migration is Israel moving to the Promised Land(Cannan).
    “Prophet Mohammed was born in Mecca but he migrated to Medina. Migration by itself is not anything wrong, it has led to civilization and development, we are all migrants but We have to prevent the sort of thing you(the returnees)have gone through.
    “We are hearing the story from the people concerned, their story of pains, sorrow and freedom.
    “I know many of you(the returnees) are not comfortable with the camera facing you, there is nothing to be ashamed of this time but we believe when people see the video, it will be for correction and instruction so that people who watches it would believe the story and stay away from irregular journey to Libya or Europe.
    “I didn’t know it is this terrifying and horrifying. I know it is  bad  but I didn’t know that it is this bad,” Obasanjo said.
    Also, the Executive Governor of Edo State,  Godwin Obaseki, who was the lead speaker, lamented that about 10, 000 indigenes of Edo have lost their lives to illegal migration.
    Obaseki who represented by a principal member of the government, Prof. Julius Ihonvhere, said 74% of the over 3000 returnees left the country in 2017.
    According to him, research conducted on the returnees showed that the largest percentage of them left owing to the economic hardship in the country at the time.

  • NEMA receives 149 Nigerians from Libya

    The National Emergency Management Agency ( NEMA ) has received 149 Nigerians who voluntarily returned from Libya.

    The returnees arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. aboard a chartered flight operated by Buraq Airline with registration number 5A-DMG.

    The aircraft landed at about 10:45 p.m. at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

    The returnees comprised of 107 male adults, 37 female adults including a medical case, four female children and one female infant.

    Mr Abrham Tamrat, the Programme Manager of International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Lagos, handed the returnees over to Alhaji Yakubu Suleiman, the South West Zonal Coordinator of NEMA.

    Suleiman thanked the IOM and the European Union ( EU ) for facilitating the repatriation of the Nigerians who had been stranded en route from Libya to Europe.

    Yakubu admonished the returnees to shun the urge of seeking greener pastures outside the country.

    He said that all nations in the world were facing various challenges as a result of global economic meltdown.

    The coordinator said the Nigerian economy had exited recession due to the ingenuity of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, adding that they should join hand in building the country.

    “Nigeria has more than enough resources to cater for our needs but it is left for every one of us to tap from any of these abundant resources,” Suleiman said.

    He assured them that both the Federal and state governments had lots of incentives for their rehabilitation and reintegration to complement the efforts of EU and IOM.

    Also speaking, Tamat said the IOM had assisted over 7,000 Nigerians back from Libya under the voluntary return assistance programme and would continue to assist persons who indicate interest to return.

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

    The telecommunications company, Airtel, in collaboration with the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Diaspora and Foreign Affairs, also gave the returnees free mobile cellphones and sim cards to facilitate their reintegration.

    NAN

  • Gaddafi’s son safe in Libya, soon to give televised speech – Lawyer

    Saif Gaddafi, the second son of late Libyan leader Muammar, is in a secure spot in Libya and will soon address the people in a televised speech, his lawyer told Sputnik.

    A Libyan militia said in June 2017 that they had released Gaddafi’s son, whom they had been holding captive since 2011, when Libya descended into political unrest.

    “Saif Islam is now in Libya, in security, and will soon make a television appearance to address the Libyans,” the lawyer said.

    The lawyer confirmed that the son of the late Libyan leader would present his candidacy for the presidential post in the election this year.

    Read Also: 100 migrants missing in shipwreck off Libya – Navy

    “The manifesto of Saif Islam is … the project of reforms that lead to a dialogue, national reconciliation and the building of a modern state,” the lawyer said.

    In June 2011, shortly before Saif Islam Gaddafi was captured, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest on suspicion of murder and persecution.

    He did not hold an official position in his father’s government, but was considered to have significant influence.

    Libya has been embroiled in a civil war since 2011, when Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown.

    Ever since, two rival governments have been struggling for control over the country.

    NAN

  • EU registers 10,000 cases of irregular migration in 2 months

    EU registers 10,000 cases of irregular migration in 2 months

    The European Union ( EU ), said it had recorded no fewer than 10, 000 cases of irregular migration within the last two months.

    The EU Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Ketil Karisen, made the disclosure on Monday at the Senate Round-table on Migration and Human Trafficking, holding in Benin, the Edo capital.

    Karisen , who said that EU’s illegal migration registration of the 10,000 took place in 2018, noted that it was recorded between January and February.
    He said that in 2017, EU registered about 187,000 cases, while number of deaths registered so far was 411, as against 116 reordered in 2017.
    He said that of the figure, Nigeria accounts for about 60 per cent, adding that in view of this there was need to correct worrisome error.
    The envoy, who said that the issue of migration and mobility were as old as the existence of man, and should not be an issue for worry.
    He said rather “what should be of worry and concern was the irregular migration and the conditions the victims were being migrated and causes for such migration.

    Karisen said the situation therefore called for urgent, immediate and long term solution to the problems of irregular migration.

    He also said that there was the need for shared responsibilities as well as bringing offenders to justice, adding that there was need to redouble efforts to dialogue on the best possible ways to adressing issue of migration.
    The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, in his opening remarks, said that the issue of irregular migration and human Trafficking had become the bane of the nation’s existence as Nigeria currently ranked 23rd in EU irregular migration index.

    Saraki said the issue had become a Nigerian disaster reference point as a country, ranked fifth among countries crossing the Mediterranean sea, with an estimated 10, 000 reported to have lost their lives in the process.

    He said the roundtable was to serve as spring board to stem the tide, saying the summit would help identify reasons for irregular migration and human trafficking and profer solution on the way forward.

    The senate president said the government was doing its best to liberate Nigerians from the slave trade going on in Libya as many lives had been lost in the cause of irregular migration, noting that the time was apt to end it.

    He said that there was the need to urgently begin to address the issue as well as work and collaborate with the EU to stem the tide.

    He said that the effort by Edo government was the beginning of many steps that would be taking in bringing the issue and inherent problems to the fore.

    READ ALSO: Human trafficking: Edo plans permanent shelters for returnees

    Saraki expressed confidence that at the end of the summit, decisions such as improved collaborations, and how human trafficking would be stopped, would have been reached.

    He said that the summit would also address issues of how to improve policy legislation, funding to Agency like NAPTIP and how to fast track pending treaties.

    Earlier, Gov Godwin Obaseki of Edo, said that the issue of irregular migration and human trafficking in the country had become critical, noting that its magnitude had never been fully grasped.

    He said the Edo government considered it a variance to the culture and value of the people hence, a taskforce was set up in the state to handle the issue.

    He said the task-force had been working assiduously to achieve its objectives, as it had been receiving returnees, while offenders were being prosecuted with issue of stigmatization taking seriously.

    The two-day summit which was attended by various stakeholders, was organised by the Office of the Senate President.
    Newsmen also reports that dignitaries at the summit include, fellow senators, ministers, security chiefs, representatives from National Human Rights Commission, National Oriented Agency, and the Delta Government.

    NAN