At least 122 stranded Nigerians, including 52 males, 39 females (seven of whom were rescued victims of human trafficking), 21 children, and 10 infants, have been evacuated from Libya. This brings the total number of stranded Nigerians assisted to return home from Libya in 2024 to 1,350. In 2023, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) helped 2,041 stranded Nigerian migrants return home.

The evacuees are scheduled to depart Mitiga International Airport at around 1:30 PM local time and are expected to arrive at Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos by 5 PM.

Tuesday’s evacuation, the ninth conducted by the Nigerian Mission in Libya this year, was carried out in collaboration with the IOM as part of its Voluntary Humanitarian Repatriation (VHR) program.

Speaking in Tripoli during the evacuation, Nigeria’s newly-posted Charge d’Affaires to Libya, Mohammed Mohammed, advised Nigerians to avoid irregular migrations to foreign lands. Mohammed warned that such migrations often result in slavery and sexual exploitation in Europe.

He emphasized that while legal migrations are permissible, Nigerians should carefully consider the risks before embarking on perilous journeys across the desert.