190 Nigerians Repatriated From UAE, Land in Abuja Amid Suspension of Travel Ban

The Nigerian government has confirmed the repatriation of 190 Nigerians from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) which made this known in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Zonal Director NEMA North Central, Bashir Idris Garga.  He said the returnees were received at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at 6am on Tuesday by a combined team of government officials led by NEMA. According to NEMA, “The returnees were profiled and documented by the relevant agencies and sensitised to behave with decorum and responsibility on their return to Nigeria. “The federal government urges all Nigerians, wherever they may be, to act as exemplary ambassadors of their country, upholding the fundamental values of patriotism, rule of law, decency, and integrity.” This comes as the President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian government on Monday announced that the UAE had lifted its visa ban on Nigerians. The Nigerian government had said it reached an agreement with the UAE that would enable Nigerians to access UAE visas. They had previously imposed a visa restriction on Nigerian citizens in October 2022. Additionally, the Emirates Airlines had suspended its flight operations to Nigeria in November 2022.  

FG, IOM repatriate 21 irregular Nigerian migrants from Libya

The Federal Government, in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has repatriated 21 Nigerian irregular migrants who were held in Libyan detention facilities. Amb. Kabiru Musa, Charge D’Affaires En Titre of the Nigerian Mission in Libya disclosed this in a statement made available to the NIGERIAN ANCHOR in Abuja. According to Musa, the stranded Nigerians are being evacuated to Nigeria under the Voluntary Humanitarian Repatriation (VHR) exercise. Musa said that the exercise was part of the Federal Government’s commitment to ensure that none of its citizens, irrespective of their migration status, was left stranded in Libya. He said that the returnees, who would be evacuated via commercial flights; Egypt and Ethiopian Airlines are expected to arrive the Murtala Mohammed International Airport on June 20. “The IOM in collaboration with Embassy of Nigeria Tripoli has repatriated  21 stranded Nigerians through the Voluntary Humanitarian Repatriation (VHR) June 19, from the Benghazi International Airport Libya, aboard commercial Egyptian Airline no. S830 to Cairo. “Commercial Ethiopian Airlines will airlift the returnees from Cairo to Addis Ababa and from Addis Ababa to Lagos, Nigeria with flight nos. ET453 and ET901 respectively. “The Egyptian airline is expected to depart Benghazi on the 19th June 2023 at 11:10 p.m on transit to Addis Ababa, and the Ethiopian airline will leave Addis Ababa on 20th June 2023 at 09.00 a.m local time,” he said. According to him, the flight is expected to arrive in Lagos at 12:25 p.m. local time. He said that the exercise was the 7th voluntary evacuation exercise that would be conducted this year, with about total number of 5000 stranded Nigerians repatriated under the VHR. “We are working closely with the Libyan authorities and we appreciate their support always,” Musa said. Thousands of Nigerian irregular migrants are locked up in detention centres across Libya for migration offences.