253 Nigerians deported from Libya arrive Lagos (Photos)

Two hundred and fifty three Nigerians, who were stranded in Libya were yesterday deported to Nigeria. The returnees, who were conveyed by a Libyan Airline plane comprised of 140 adult females and eight children. Also aboard were 103 adult male and three male children.

The returnees were received at the Hajj Camp area of the airport by officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) , the National Agency for the Protection of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the Police.

Addressing newsmen, Dr Onimode Bandele, Director, Search and Rescue, NEMA, said two of the returnees had medical issues.

According to him, one of them was suffering from depression, while the other had severe burns requiring surgical operation.

Speaking to newsmen, the returnee who suffered the severe burns on her face said she arrived Libya in February after making a payment of N300, 000 to her traffickers.

She told newsmen that she suffered the injury while working for her “madam” who only went to dump her at the hospital where she was abandoned. The returnee, therefore, appealed to the government for assistance to carry out a reconstructive surgery on her face. NAN reports that a total of 236 Nigerians had in March voluntarily returned from the North African country where they had been stranded enroute Europe.