Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Chairman/CEO of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) has disclosed that over 956 Nigerians have been evacuated from Libya, in the first quarter of 2025 alone.
In a statement by Abdur-Rahman Balogun, the spokesman of NiDCOM, she said the operations were in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Nigeria and the National Commission For Refugees Migrants And Internally Displaced Persons Offices (NCRMI).
The breakdown shows that 683 of them were females, 132 males, 87 children and 54 infants.
The returnees were brought back home in six tranches from January to March 2025.
“The six trips were 152 on 28 January, 145, 180 and 159 on February 11, 19 and 25 respectively while 144 and 176 came in on March 4 and 18 respectively.
“In the last few years, well over 15,000 stranded Nigerians have been evacuated back home by the federal government and the International Organization for Migration,” the statement added.
Dabiri-Erewa reiterated the Commission’s persistent advice to Nigerians to avoid dangerous and deadly migration routes such as Libya, a war-torn country, dealing with many struggles.
“Because of the delicate political situation in Libya, we countlessly caution Nigerians to avoid Libya as a pathway to Europe; not just Libya but other irregular routes,” she said.
She urged Nigerians to follow the legal and regular means of migration, noting that some rescued Nigerians returned to Libya or more dangerous routes to get into Europe.
Dabiri-Erewa stressed that the Federal Government will continually uphold the interest, dignity and fundamental human rights of Nigerians at home and in the diaspora, irrespective of their socio-economic, ethnocultural or religious backgrounds.
She called for collaboration with government agencies, NGOs, the media and other relevant stakeholders to join hands in raising awareness about the dangers of irregular migration.
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