The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Tuesday received another batch of 174 Nigerians who had been stranded in Libya.

The acting coordinator of the Lagos territorial office of the agency, Ibrahim Farinloye, told journalists that the Nigerians arrived at the cargo wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport at 3:45 p.m. aboard a Boeing 737-800 of Al Buraq Air with registration number 5A-DMG.

He said the returnees were brought back to the country by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) through a voluntary repatriation programme.

The acting coordinator said that the programme was meant for distressed Nigerians who had left the country to seek greener pastures in various European countries but could not afford to return when their journey became frustrating.

Mr Farinloye said the returnees comprised 75 male adults, 69 female adults, 12 male and five female children, 10 female infants and three male infants.

He said that 23 of the returnees had minor medical cases.

“This year alone, this flight was the 12th recorded in Lagos that brought returnees from Libya,” Mr Farinloye said.

He said that about 2,044 Nigerian returnees from Libya had been assisted back to the country through Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Ikeja, in 2022.

“We admonished the returnees on the need to realise that there’s no country better than Nigeria.

”Here, you have all the freedom to achieve your potential; looking for greener pastures in foreign lands is no longer a reality; those countries are not better off when you consider the challenges you encounter there and here,” he said.

Mr Farinloye said the returnees were received by NEMA, Immigration Service, Refugee Commission, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Federal Ministry of Health and the Nigeria Police. 

(NAN)