Tale of sorrow as 171 Nigerian returnees recount ordeal in Libya

It was gnashing of teeth for the 171 Nigerians that returned to the country amid the ordeal they went through in Libya.

Emotions ran high as some of them broke down in tears as they recounted what they went through. The number of 171 returnees brings to 332 the number of Nigerians who were brought back to the country in the past one week.

Last week Tuesday, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in conjunction with the Nigerian Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had facilitated the return of 161 people who said it was God who saved their lives in a country they claimed was hostile to Nigerians.

Meanwhile, stranded Nigerians have been asked to take advantage of the last batch of evacuation that is expected to be done. Failure to take advantage of that could leave them in danger because after that it might be difficult getting IOM to continue to do that again.

There is going to be another evacuation and a final one where we tell Nigerians who are stranded in Libya to come back home. After that it might be difficult getting IOM to continue to do that again and we have to encourage them.”

One of the returnees, Gift Peters broke down in tears, saying she was deceived into embarking on what she claimed was a dangerous journey to Libya.

Her words, “A man in Benin City said he was going to take me to Germany but ended up in Libya. When I got to Libya, I asked him to take me back but sold me into slavery. When they arrested me and others, they gave us urine to drink. It was not easy”, as she wept uncontrollably.

“The suffering was just much. We beg the Nigerian government to come to the rescue over 400 stranded Nigerians in that country. I saw my friends and the way they were killed was gory”, she added.

Another who gave her name simply as Damola Oriade said her sister engaged a man who would help her come and meet her in Germany, adding that instead of taking her to Germany, she ended up in Libya where she suffered terribly.

She gave a chilly account of how Nigerians are being killed in Libya, saying she was happy to be back home.

Receiving them at the Hajj camp of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, Senior Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora to President Muhammadu Buhari, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa said they should not be ashamed of the problems that they went through in Tripoli.

She called for the strengthening of the National Agency For the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) law that would help catch the traffickers.

She recalled that there was a time the Nigerian government received a distress call on the maltreatment of her national who she stated were going through the worse of treatment in that country.

Dabiri-Erewa said President Buhari was so touched and pained that he directed all of them should be brought back to avoid death and continuation of bestial treatment of her nationals in that country.

She expressed government’s gratitude to IOM in particular and NEMA for doing a great job, insisting that the returnees are not criminals.

“These are men and women who have gone abroad in search of Greener pastures, but unfortunately it turned out to be a terrible experience for them. They are not criminals. They shouldn’t be ashamed of themselves. They are glad that they are back home and Mr. President has said we should personally convey his greetings to them and let them know that they are back in Nigeria and there is no better time than now. Times are tough. Things are difficult but the country is the best place to be.”

“The question really is how long we are going to keep evacuating them. There is going to be another evacuation and a final one where we tell Nigerians who are stranded in Libya to come back home. After that it might be difficult getting IOM to continue to do that again and we have to encourage them.”

She said a lot of the returnees don’t even know where to go from Nigeria, adding that there are a lot ignorance leading to them being trafficked and tricked out of the country and come back with nothing to show for trips abroad.

“The message is that, it is not worth it. As tough as Nigeria is today, you are better off here than being in those places. Mr. President has made it clear that yes, there are tough times but he is here to ensure that he takes Nigeria from the bottomless pit to the top of the mountain.”

She encouraged them that as they come home, those who are interested in learning skills will learn skills, stressing that since this administration came, over a thousand of them have been repatriated back to Nigeria.

She advised parents and guardian to tell their wards that, “It is not worth it. The world is getting tougher, getting more difficult. It is tough not be a legal migrant, let alone being an irregular migrant. So, let the message go out there. When you hear their stories, there are sad stories to tell. Some of them are trafficked; some of them got there and did not get the money they claimed there were going to get.

“They are not criminals; they just want better life but unfortunately, the better life is not there. And who knows, for a lot of them, the better life is right here in Nigeria. So, let’s talk to our younger ones, parents in particular, some parents encourage their girls to go out there. We need to encourage our parents to discourage their children from doing that.”

She said states should be ready to take over those from their states like Edo State is doing, assuring that they would be taken to their states, urging their states to empower them.

She said the returnees were lucky to be alive adding that a lot of them had died, congratulating the lucky survivors, hinting that a lot of them died in the process of trying to get to Europe through Libya.

She likened irregular migration amounts to death in Libya, saying, “They kill them. We thank God we have them back. More are going to be brought back but the question is, it needs to be discouraged. It is not worth it. There is a strong trafficking syndicate that lures especially the girls into trafficking and when