Dr Nuradeen Abdullahi, Coordinator, Kano Territorial Office of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said that the agency received 13 Nigerians from Khartoum, Sudan.

Mr Abdullahi disclosed this while receiving the returnees in Kano on Tuesday.

The returnees arrived at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport at about 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday on an Ethiopian Airline Aircraft, with flight number ET343.

Mr Abdullahi noted that the returnees were returned to Nigeria by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) initiative on migrant protection and re-integration and the European Union, under the Assisted Voluntary Returnees Programme.

“The returnees were brought back through a voluntary programme for the distressed, who had left the country to seek for greener pastures in various European countries and could not afford to return when their journey became frustrated.

“The returnees included five female adults and eight children (three female and five male) from Jigawa and Kano.

According to him, the returnees will be trained for four days to be self-reliant and will be given grants to enable them to meet expenses of initial settling down.

Mr Abdullahi advised Nigerians to avoid endangering their lives by travelling to seek greener pastures in other countries, adding that no country was better than Nigeria. 

He further explained that the agency, between May and July, had received 367 stranded Nigerians from Agadez (Niger Republic) and trained them on various skills acquisition. 

A returnee, Amina Ibrahim, 60, from Kano State, and a mother of four, said she travelled to Sudan to search for greener pastures.

“I was a business woman before I left Nigeria with people’s N8 million debt with me.

“I went to Sudan to seek greener pastures, thinking that I will be able to get enough money to pay them back and continue with my business. 

“In Sudan you have to beg before you can get money to eat. I really suffered,” Ms Ibrahim said. 

The returnees were received by NEMA, with other sister security agencies including Nigerian Red Cross, SEMA, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs and SSS.

(NAN)