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Tag: Suleiman Yakubu

  • NEMA urges state govts to rehabilitate Libyan returnees

    NEMA urges state govts to rehabilitate Libyan returnees

    National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has urged state governments of the federation to facilitate the rehabilitation of their indigenes, who voluntarily returned from Libya.

    The Director-General, NEMA, Alhaji Mustapha Maihajja, made the call in Lagos on Tuesday while receiving 142 Nigerians who voluntarily returned from Libya.

    Maihajja, who was represented by Alhaji Suleiman Yakubu, NEMA’s South-West Zonal Coordinator, stressed the need for every state to complement the efforts being made at the national and international levels to rehabilitate the returnees.

    The director-general, who noted that Edo and Osun had keyed into such the rehabilitation programme, called on more states to emulate them by offering assistance to the returnees from their states.

    Read also : 149 more Nigerians return from Libya

    Maihajja applauded the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the European Union (EU) for facilitating the repatriation of the returnees and also providing assistance for their rehabilitation.

    The returnees arrived  Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at about 11.25p.m aboard a Nouvelair Airbus A320 aircraft with registration Number: TS-INA, comprising 52 adult females, 86 adult males, two children and two infants.

    The first batch of 245 returnees had earlier arrived at about 8.25p.m at the airport aboard an Afriqiyah Airbus 330-300 aircraft with registration Number 5A-ONR.

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

    NAN

  • 826 Nigerians voluntarily returned from Libya in one month – NEMA

    826 Nigerians voluntarily returned from Libya in one month – NEMA

    The National Emergency Management Agency ( NEMA ) says a total of 826 Nigerians stranded in Libya, enroute Europe, voluntarily returned from the North African country in October.

    The Director General of NEMA, Alhaji Mustapha Maihajja, made the disclosure while receiving a fresh batch of 270 Nigerians who arrived the country on Tuesday.

    Maihajja, represented by the South West Zonal Coordinator of the agency, Alhaji Suleiman Yakubu, said the returnees were assisted back to Nigeria by the International Organisation for Migration ( IOM ) and the European Union ( EU ).

    He said that the fresh batch added to 138 Nigerians earlier brought back on Oct. 3; 257 on Oct. 24 and 161 on Oct. 26 made the total number of returnees in October 826.

    The NEMA boss urged the returnees to contribute their quota to national development, stressing that the quest to build Nigeria required the support of all and sundry.

    NAN reports that the new set of returnees arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at 7.30pm aboard a Libyan Airline aircraft with registration number 5A-LAU.

    They comprised 216 female adults, 13 teenage girls and five infants, while the male adults were 27, 18 were teenage boys and nine, baby boys.

    Other agencies which received the returnees were 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

  • Another 257 Nigerians return from Libya

    Another 257 Nigerians return from Libya

    The National Emergency Management Agency ( NEMA ) on Tuesday received another 257 Nigerian voluntary returnees flown back from Libya.

    The returnees arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, in a chartered Airbus A330-200 flight with Registration number 5A- LAT at 9.15pm.

    They had been stranded in the course of their failed attempt to cross over to Europe through the volatile North African country.

    The returnees were assisted back to Nigeria by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) while the Italian Government provided the aircraft.

    They were handed over to the Zonal Coordinator of NEMA Southwest, Alhaji Suleiman Yakubu, who received them on behalf of Federal Government.

    The female among the returnees comprised 241 adults, two children and five infants while the male comprised four adults, four teenage boys and one infant.

    Yakubu enjoined the returnees to embrace the change mantra of the federal government.

    He urged them to remain positive and focused on contributing their quota to national development, instead of seeking greener pastures where it doesn’t exist.

    Yakubu noted that they would not be treated as second class citizens in their own country, unlike what they face abroad after migrating illegally.

    He disclosed that the European Union was providing the reintegration assistance, urging them to make use of the initiative and better their lives.

    Other agencies present when Yakubu received the returnees were 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

  • 121 stranded Nigerians return from Libya

    121 stranded Nigerians return from Libya

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Wednesday said it had received another batch of 121 stranded Nigerians from Libya.

    The Zonal Coordinator of NEMA, Mr Suleiman Yakubu, received them on behalf of the Federal Government, enjoining them to learn from their unpleasant experiences in the course of their sojourn.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NEMA had on Aug. 29 received another batch of 139 returnees from Libya.

    NAN reports that the total number of Nigerian returnees brought back from Libya by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) from February, 2017 to date is 2,638.

    Yakubu said the aircraft that transported them arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) at 5:30p.m on Wednesday aboard a chartered Airbus SA320 Nouvelair Flight with Registration number TS-INA.

    According to a statement signed by Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, the South-West Spokesman of NEMA, Yakubu said that the agency received the 121 returnees from the officials of IOM.

    The zonal coordinator explained that on arrival, the profiling of the returnees indicated that there were 60 female adults, one girl, while male adults were 57 with two male children and a male infant.

    “The total returnees are 61 females and 60 males amongst them are two pregnant women and one with medical issues.

    “One of the returnees, Ms Omolara Owoade, who hails from Apomu in Osun, claimed that she spent one year and two months in Libya.

    “Owoade worked as a cleaner in a hospital and when it was time for her to collect her salary, she was accused of stealing and taken to prison from where the IOM came to her rescue.

    “She said N662, 000 was collected from her by a trafficker and vowed that she would get her money back from her trafficker once she returns to Nigeria.

    “Owoade also narrated to NEMA, on her arrival, that many Nigerians are suffering the same fate,” Yakubu said.

    He also explained how Ms Iyabo Abiola from Oyo State narrated how she fell victim to the deceitful talks of the traffickers, who deceived her with a promise of 4,000 dollars per month.

    Yakubu said that Abiola vowed to expose the traffickers, usually called burger, to NAPTIP.

    The NEMA zonal coordinator said that the deportees were also received by officers from the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the Police and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).