The Nation Newspaper

Tag: MIGRANTS

  • 563 migrants intercepted off Libyan coast in one week

    563 migrants intercepted off Libyan coast in one week

    The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said yesterday that 563 migrants were intercepted off the coast of Libya in the past week.

    “From March 2 to 8, 563 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya,’’ IOM said in a statement.

    Among the migrants were 43 women and 12 children, IOM added, noting that one body of a migrant was also recovered.

    So far this year, a total of 4,767 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya, while 82 migrants died and 58 others went missing on the central Mediterranean route.

    Because of the insecurity and chaos in the country since the fall of its late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, many migrants, mostly Africans, chose to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores from Libya.

    On Sunday, Libya’s Government of National Unity refuted reports alleging that Libya plans to resettle undocumented migrants within the country, saying the reports are “misleading and completely false.’’

    Read Also: Cascador launches $2m fund for Nigerian entrepreneurs

    The denial came amid social media claims of a statement by Minister of Local Governance Badr Al-Din Al-Toumi regarding the settlement of undocumented migrants in Libya.

    The claimed surfaced following his meeting on Saturday in Tripoli with Nicoletta Giordano, chief of Mission for IOM in Libya.

    Last week, Libyan Interior Minister Emad al-Tarabelsi stressed the importance of UN support to advance the voluntary departure of migrants from Libya to their home countries.

    Al-Tarabelsi said earlier that Libya may resort to “forced deportation of illegal migrants’’ if the international community fails to support their voluntary return to their countries of origin.

  • 32,000 migrants arrive in Canary Islands by boat this year

    32,000 migrants arrive in Canary Islands by boat this year

    About 32,000 men, women and children have reached the Canary Islands by boat so far this year on the world’s deadliest migration route, breaking a 17-year-old record for arrivals in the Spanish archipelago.

    On Friday and Saturday, four boats carrying a total of 739 people arrived at El Hierro, the smallest and most westerly of the Canary Islands, along with the bodies of two people who had died on the perilous Atlantic route from Africa. A further two people died in hospital.

    The latest arrivals bring the total number of who have reached the archipelago since the beginning of the year to 31,933. During the small boat crisis in 2006, 31,678 people made it to the Canaries.

    According to data from Spain’s interior ministry, 14,976 people arrived in the Canaries in October alone, increasing the huge strain on the islands’ infrastructure.

    Fernando Clavijo, the regional president of the Canary Islands, said the milestone underlined the scale of the humanitarian challenge faced by the islands, and he renewed his calls for more help from Spain’s government and the EU.

    Read Also: Empowerment scheme for immigrants unveiled

    “Figures shouldn’t trump everything else, but in this case, they define the humanitarian emergency in the Canaries,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “The 2006 figures have been exceeded but the response from the state and from the EU isn’t the same. Managing migration on the southern border should be a priority in both the Spanish and European agendas.”

    Txema Santana, a journalist specialising in migration and a former adviser to the Canaries regional government, said the high number of people arriving this weekend – and the four deaths – were yet another sign of things to come.

    “Going into November with this intensity (of arrivals) is going to lead to a haemorrhage of dead and disappeared people,” he said on X.

    This year’s arrival figures are already more than twice as high as last year’s. According to the International Organisation for Migration, between January and December 2022, 15,682 people reached the Canary Islands by boat from West Africa, a decrease of 30%, or 6,634 people, compared with the previous year.

  • Time for global action on refugees and migrants

    Sir: The discourse on the plight of refugees and the migrants is again on the international media radar with usual terrifying headlines.

    The recent dastardly act where at least 53 refugees were killed, including six children and 130 injured, including 9 Nigerian nationals, in air strike on Tajoura detention centre, Libya comes to mind.

    There are approximately 500 refugees and migrants held in the detention camp, and the detention camp was apparently struck twice, with one missile hitting an unoccupied garage and another hitting a hanger and which contained some 120 refugees and migrants.

    According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, there are reports that following the first impact, some refugees and migrants were fired upon by guards as they tried to escape. This is inhuman!

    The UN envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, told the Security Council in May that ‘nearly 3,400 refugees and migrants are trapped in detention centres exposed to or in close proximity to, the fighting’.

    Reports indicate that the UN has not handled the situation in Libya with all seriousness it deserves and should also be blamed for not taking swift action before the attack on the refugees’ camp after warning from officials.

    As the world-governing body responsible in promoting peace and security, the UN can pressure the warring parties to a ceasefire immediately, in order to give enough time to evacuate the refugees and migrants to a safe location or even relocate them to a nearby country.

    Elsewhere, in Italy it’s another blow to the refugees and migrants as the far-right populist party has passed a law to fine any boat rescuing refugees from sea up to £50,000; those who repeatedly violate the law risk having their boat seized. Italy’s cabinet approved the measure two weeks after the anti-immigrants league triumphed in European parliamentary elections.

    Matteo Salvini, Italy’s interior minister and deputy prime minister has repeatedly accused charity rescuers of being complicit with people smugglers.

    Both the Italian authorities and the Libyan UN-backed government have also compounded the problem and hardship faced by the refugees and migrants through violation of international maritime laws.

    The international community must rise to its responsibility to protect refugees and the UN should pass a resolution to criminalize rejection of refugees and migrants while on board.

    Because moves to force refugees from waters back to war zone is not just a flagrant violation of international law, but height of insensitivity!

    It’s commendable the recent pronouncements by the UN that the parties involved in the Libyan attack should be treated as war criminals, while the parties should also return to  UN- mediated political talks and urged other countries not to intervene or exacerbate conflict in Libya.

    The time for action is now!

     

    • Abdullateef Tanko,

    smilefaceglobalpeace

  • Nigeria Migrants Forced into Prostitution in Russia

    A Nigerian female football fan stranded in Russia has now been forced into prostitution.

    The female spectator has not returned to Nigeria eight months after the 2018 FIFA World Cup ended.

    Narrating her ordeal to a Non-Governmental Organization in Moscow, the lady said she was introduced to the illicit trade by a woman who  claimed to be helping her. 

    “She took my passport and my Fan ID,”  she said.

    “I want to stay in Russia.

    READ ALSO:  NFF Takes 100 Fans to World Cup to Cheer Super Eagles

    “Not to stay permanently – I just want to have some money, so that at least when I go back to Nigeria I can start a business,” she added.

    It has been revealed that a lot of young girls were trafficked during the June 2018 World Cup.

    Russian Interior Ministry reported last week that the number of fans still stranded had reduced to 5,500.

    According to Evgeni Yastrebov, a consultant on immigration issues with Civic Assistance Committee, an organisation that works with refugees in Russia told the BBC in an interview, that many of those fans have been stranded in Russia and desperately in need of help.

    “Many of them came from Nigeria, with some from Cameroon, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

    “They were looking to apply for asylum and stay here and that didn’t work out and now many of them are getting deported on a daily basis.

    “The [Russian] government offers no assistance to people who want to seek asylum and stay in Russia and right now these people are struggling.

    “Right now it’s winter and it’s very cold and they need warm clothing. Some of them get money sent to them from home and some engage in unofficial jobs but they are underpaid and it’s not enough to take care of themselves.”

  • Immigration to begin compulsory registration of migrants

    … Minister will engage governors, traditional rulers, others, says Babandede
    … Switzerland, Netherlands, Germany, IOM, others support process
    … Launches training centre

    All migrants who have stayed more than 90 days in Nigeria are now required to get registered to avoid heavy sanction, the Comptroller General, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Muhammed Babandede, revealed on Thursday.

    Babandede said this in Abuja at the launching of the NIS training curriculum for personnel training resource centres which will service as migrant’s registration centre.

    Approval to commence the registration of migrants, Babandede said was given last year by President Muhammadu Buhari, adding that: “but we felt it is not enough to start inviting migrants to register until we prepare our staff, get equipments and sensitize the public before the commencement.”

    He also cautioned Nigerians that provides accommodation to migrants to educate them on the need for them to obey and get registered.

    Before the commencement date for the registration which was not disclosed, Babandede said that: “We hope that by next week the Minister of Interior will provide leadership and engage state governors and Traditional Rulers on the need to get migrants registered.This is the right way to start. We need the support of all state governors. Migrants resides in the states and the FCT. President Muhammadu Buhari has given incentives for people who are going to register.”

    His words: “No money will be paid by any migrant to be registered. It is going to be free. No migrant will be asked to pay. What we have commissioned today is very strategic for the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), development.

    “The training centre is going to be training centre for all our form of training. We are not going to rely on officers going to physical training institutions. It is selfmultivaterd and each individual will go there to read, do training, seat examination and pass. Is an online development.

    “This we are going to replicate in any state of the federation. This one is funded by the donors headed by the International Organization for Migration, (IOM). We want to immediately use the training centre for migrant registration. Approval was given by President Muhammadu Buhari last year.

    “And we have been able to get equipment, a training centre, officers have been trained for training centers. The software have been concluded. It will be rolled out in each state of the federation. The donors are supporting all the states including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), but we will have two additional centers which is Lagos and Kano. This means that NIS is prepared IT base. People do not need to come the the NIS office for registration. You will register online but before we take your biometrics, you will complete and upload all the documents required. Then by the time you come to the NIS office, we will just take your biometrics, take your photograph and allow you to go.

    “It is intended for anybody who is not a Citizen of Nigeria and who has entered our territory stayed for a period exceeding 90 days. It is mandatory for that person and also mandatory for the person who provides accommodation for that person anywhere that person sleeps to ensure that the migrant is registered. We have a training curriculum for this to guild officers. There is sanction according to the law.”

    The International Organization for Migration (IOM), Chief of Mission, Mr. frantz Celestin said it has IOM have aligned with various financial and developmental partners in order to support the strengthening of NIS capacity to meet the needs of the safe and orderly migrants processing, to facilitate access to travel documents, improve ability to detect fraudulent documentation and boost its capacity to combat irregular migration.

    Celestin who was represented by Fernando Medina commended Immgration adding that the foreigner registration pilot sites are landmark achievements and the first of its kind in West Africa.

    Donors are Embassy of Switzerland, German and the Netherlands Ambassador, Harry Putker was disclosed that his government donated $1.33 million to support the project.

     

     

  • 43 migrants dead after 2 boats capsize near Djibouti

    At least 43 migrants have drowned after two boats capsized off the coast of Djibouti, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said on Wednesday.

    The UN organisation had previously counted only 28 recovered bodies.

    “We are expecting the death toll to be much higher than that,” IOM spokesman, Joel Millman, said.

    More than 130 migrants were on the boats when they overturned on Tuesday off Godoria, in the north-east of the small Horn of Africa nation, according to the IOM.

    Read Also: 117 people feared dead after migrant boat sinks off Libya

    Millman said the two boats that set off from the port of Obock were probably carrying mostly Ethiopians and were likely headed to Yemen.

    Djibouti has become a major migration route, and thousands of irregular migrants use it as both a country of destination and transit on their journey to the Arabian Peninsula, according to the IOM.

    More than 700 migrants have died in the past five years during boat journeys from the Horn of African to Yemen, according to the UN organisation. (dpa/NAN)

  • 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.

  • 2.5m migrants smuggled in 2016 – UNODC

    The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said at least 2.5 million migrants were smuggled during the course of 2016.

    UNODC, in the first ever Global Study on Smuggling of Migrants, said migrant smuggling occurred in all parts of the world, generated an income of up to $7billion.

    The UN agency that fights drugs and crime, said the amount was equivalent to what the United States or the European Union spent on humanitarian aid in 2016.

    “This transnational crime preys on the most vulnerable of the vulnerable,” said Jean-Luc Lemahieu, UNODC Director of Policy Analysis and Public Affairs.

    “It’s a global crime that requires global action, including improved regional and international cooperation and national criminal justice responses.”

    The study described 30 major smuggling routes worldwide and found that demand for smuggling services was particularly high among refugees who, for lack of other means, might need to use people-smugglers to reach a safe destination fleeing their countries of origin.

    NAN

  • FG promises to help Edo rehabilitate deported migrants

    The federal government has pledged to assist Edo state to rehabilitate large number of deported illegal migrants and trafficked persons in the state.

    Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, made the commitment when Governor Godwin Obaseki, visited him in Abuja last week.

    Adamu, in a statement by the ministry’s Director Press and Public Relations, Mrs. Chinenye Ihuoma, promised to assist the governor to curtail illegal migration by advancing the educational levels of all the victims.

    The minister urged Obaseki to make a formal request to the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETfund) for special interventions in the proposed tertiary institutions to be used to actualise his plans.

    The governor appealed to the minister to consider special help for the state to upgrade its three colleges of education and the polytechnics to be used to train such persons.

    Obaseki noted the state government’s research reviewed that most of the deported migrants and trafficked persons had low academic levels, adding that equipping them with better education and skills would enhance their orientations  and life style.

    He assured the minister that the state would meet up with whatever criteria that would qualify the designated tertiary institutions to merit TETfund interventions.

  • Migrants: Committee evacuates 545 Nigerians from Libya

    Migrants: Committee evacuates 545 Nigerians from Libya

    …says over 16,000 were evacuated in 2017 from different countries

     

    Additional 545 Nigerian migrants were expected back home on Monday from Libya, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama led committee on Libya migration crisis has said.

    This is apart from the 485 that were repatriated at the weekend from Libya.

    The committee also revealed that a technical team has been left behind in Libya to search out Nigerians scattered across the war turn county.

    Meanwhile, a grand total of 16,387 persons were deported to Nigeria across the globe in 2017.

    The committee which briefed newsmen in Abuja yesterday also noted that it was able to visit only five of about 50 camps where Nigerians are been held in captivity.

    Onyeama briefed alongside other members which include, the comptroller General of immigration Mr Muhammed Babandede, the Director General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking Persons, Julie Okah-Donli, Director General of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr. Mustapha Maihaja and Sadia Umaru-Farouk, Commissioner for Refugee.

    The comptroller General of immigration Mr Muhammed Babandede who reeled out the the figures of Nigerian repatriated from Libya revealed that in 2017 alone, the country received 5908 migrants and if added to Sunday returnee of 4585, we would have 6,393 deportees from Libya alone.

    Babandede speaking on the outcome of the findings by members of Federal Government Delegation to Libya said, “I want to state that in 2017 alone we have received in to the country deportees specifically from Libya, 5908.

    “So if you add to the number we received on Jan.7 which was 485 from Libya it will give you 6,393 deportees we received Libya.

    “The ratio of those deported on Jan. 7 is very interesting, the male is 398, female 84, children 3.

    According to him a total of 3,498 men, 2,684 female and minors 211 were deported from Libya in 2017 which shows the ratio between male and female is almost balance.

    He also noted that of the 485 returnees over the weekend, 398 are male, female 84 and children 3.

    ImmIgration boss also noted that a total number of 3498 deportees from Libya were men, 2,684 female, minors 211 “which shows the ratio between male and female is almost balance.”

    He revealed further that a grand total of 16,387 persons person were deported to Nigeria across the globe in 2017.

    He said, “I don’t want us to look at it as if it only in Libya the deportees are coming from, like from Saudi Arabia surprisingly we have a total deportees of 3836 deportees in 2017 alone the ratio is very interesting male only 395 female 2,331 children 1,110 the ratio in Saudi Arabia is high from other countries you know Europe has been deporting the highest number from other countries is from south Africa, Italy and Austria the total number we have from other countries is greater than the one in Libya, 6643, so grand total of person deported to Nigeria in 2017 is 16,387 we afraid this might continue or even be higher in 2018.”

    He also said that the security agencies will also screen the returnees to identify those who were trafficked and those who are irregular migrants.

    The committee also promised to train the returnees and empower them so as to ensure their smooths integration into the society.