The National Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday received 162 stranded Nigerians from Libya at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
NEMA’s Acting Coordinator, Lagos Territorial Office, Ibrahim Farinloye, confirmed this to the News Agency of Nigeria.
Farinloye said the stranded Nigerians arrived at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport at about 4:56pm with Boeing 737-800 Al Buraq Air with registration number 5A-DMG.
He said the returnees were brought back to the country by the International Organisation for Migration through a voluntary repatriation programme for the distressed who had left the country to seek greener pastures in various European countries but could not afford to return when their journey became frustrated.
Farinloye said the returnees were 96 male adults, 41 female adults, nine male and five female children, six female infants and five male infants, including three adult male with minor medical issues.
According to him, the agency recorded 91 flights that brought returnees into the country from April 2017 and a total of 24,000 returnees, with 16,000 from Libya.
He said the returnees were received by NEMA along with other sister agencies, including the Nigeria Immigration Service, Refugees Commission, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and Nigeria Police.
