Authorities in Libya have sent more than 150 Nigerians home on Tuesday (June 20). Migrant women who voluntarily chose to return to Nigeria have left the deportation office in the capital, Tripoli.
A spokesman for Libya’s illegal immigration department detailed the conditions under which women without legal residency in the North African country were detained.
“Today, Tuesday, June 20, 2023, illegal immigrants with Nigerian nationality are being deported. Some of them have been arrested on public roads while practicing begging. ”
The deportations are overseen by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), as part of an ongoing joint program with the Libyan government to deport illegal migrants. Libya is the main departure point for migrants who want to cross the Mediterranean to Europe in search of a better life.
“In coordination with their embassies about 165 illegal immigrants were deported today, Deportation operation will continue customary.” there will be another flight next week to deport other Nigerian immigrants.
IOM Libya’s Movement Tracking Matrix program identified a total of 706,062 migrants of more than 44 nationalities across 100 autonomous cities of Libya during the data collection cycle (January – February 2023). .
Nigerian citizens are among the top five nationalities, including Nigeriens, Egyptians, Sudanese and Chadians.
