Nigerian delegation heads to Libya, plans mass evacuation

Okah-Donli

A Special Federal Government of Nigeria delegation departed Abuja yesterday for Tripoli, the Libyan Capital on a facts finding mission on the level of the enslavement of Nigerians in that country.

The delegation is also expected to plan the mass evacuation of Nigerians trapped in the North African Country.

The delegation, which is led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, includes the Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Dame Julie Okah-Donli, and the Senior Special Assistant to the President of Diaspora Matters, Hon. Abike Dabiri Erewa amongst others.

The delegation, which departed the Presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja yesterday around 9.20am, was on board the Nigeria Air force Flight N5FGS.

The Facts Finding mission will among other things, engage with the Libyan Authorities, Nigerian officials and citizens living in Libya as well as International organisations working on migration issues in Libya.

It will be recalled that following reports of the enslavement of Nigerian Migrants in Libya, which has raised a lot of concerns in the country, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the evacuation of all Nigerians trapped in the North African Country back to Nigeria. He also set up team led by the Foreign Affairs Minister to work out modalities for carrying out the mass evacuation. Since then, a number of high level meetings had been held amongst various Federal Government Agencies. Vice President Yemi Osibanjo has also presided over some of the meetings.

Okah-Donli said that the Agency was ready to assist victims of human trafficking, who would be amongst those returning to Nigeria to get properly reintegrated back into the Nigerian Society.

 She further said: “Our Counsellors are fully ready to receive the returnees and give them the needed psychosocial assistance for proper reintegration into the society. We will also help them with all the necessary tools to sustain themselves including vocational training and education assistance. This will be done with assistance from Government, Corporate bodies and the international organisations. This is not the time for anybody to stand aloof and watch the Federal Government alone do it. All hands must be on deck now, because doing nothing will affect all of us.”