NEMA receives 162 Nigerian returnees from N-Africa

BY LAWANI MIKAIRU & DANIEL ETEGHE

LAGOS – THE National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, yesterday, received 162 Nigerians, who were evacuated from Libya, Egypt and Tunisia.

The returnees arrived the  Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos aboard a chartered aircraft on Monday.

Disclosing this to newsmen, the Regional Coordinator of NEMA, Mr Iyiola  Akande, said the arrival of the returnees was informed by a message NEMA received from the International Organisation of Migration, IOM.

Akande said the returnees were caught in the crises across some North African countries.

According to him, “the International Organisation of Migration, an arm of the United Nations, has been assisting many African nationals in war-torn countries in Libya, Egypt and Tunisia to return to their countries of origin, as it has become inconvenient for them to continue to stay in the affected countries. NEMA officials counseled the returnees by providing the psychological framework for them to reintegrate into the society.’’

“They were not deported or repatriated, but volunteered to return on their own, having been trapped in the crisis in North Africa. They decided to return to Nigeria having been tired of the condition in the countries they had gone to.’’

Continuing, Akande said, “They willingly volunteered themselves to return home. That is why they are returnees not deportees. This has become a regular exercise, all the time, they are always returning home. We hope that they will not return to their old way of life.’’