THE Federal Government has evacuated 100 Nigerians stranded in Libya.
The Chargé D’affaires en titre of the Nigerian Embassy in Libya, Kabiru Musa, disclosed this in a statement yesterday in Tripoli.
He said the returnees are expected to arrive at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Friday night.
The official added that another set of 100 stranded Nigerians would return home in the next 10 days.
Musa said among those to be repatriated are victims of human trafficking and persons detained in Libyan prisons for migration offences, among others.
He revealed that the exercise was coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the support of the Ministry of Defence.
The embassy official said: “Under the special arrangements, NAF aircraft C-130 H evacuated 100 stranded Nigerians detained in various Libyan prisons after they had served respective jail terms.
“The aircraft arrived in Tripoli on Friday, 13th August 2021 at 2.00 pm local time for the evacuation exercise.
“The repatriated Nigerians included men, women, and children some of whom were either victims of human trafficking or ISIS reign of terror. They were held captives for several years until their captors were killed.
“Others were jailed for committing migration offenses.
“The Embassy in fulfilling its obligations to Nigerian citizens exerted efforts with coordination of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure the return of the Nigerians home and to reunite them with their families.
“The exercise was successfully carried out with the support of the Ministry of Defense which provided the aircraft.
“The exercise will be a continuous one until all Nigerians stranded in Libya are returned home. Already, another batch of 100 Nigerians will be evacuated in 10 days.”
He thanked the Libyan authorities for ensuring the smooth conduct of the exercise.
