The Federal Government has warned Nigerian migrants to avoid going to Libya or through Libya where penalty for illegal migration now attracts death penalty. The office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora gave the warning on Sunday.
Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the SSA to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, said she was alarmed that in spite of the mistreatment and killings of blacks Nigerian migrants still use Libya as transit route to Europe and elsewhere. A visibly worried Mrs Dabiri-Erewa passionately pleaded that all Nigerian migrants should learn from what has been happening to other black migrants caught in the web of Libya immigration.
“I hereby appeal again to Nigerian migrants to avoid Libya as penalty for illegal migration to Libya, when caught, is usually a death sentence.’’
She referred to a trending video, which though had not been authenticated, showing pictures purported killing of black immigrants in Libya.
“While the authenticity of the pictures and tapes in question cannot be verified, it is a known fact that Libya has been executing alleged black illegal immigrants for years.
“As the Chairman Committee on Diaspora in the House of Representatives in the Seventh Assembly, we intervened in the case of 24 Nigerians about to be killed in Libya.
“The Committee, in collaboration with SERAP, an NGO, petitioned the UN, AU, ECOWAS, and Ghadaffi yielded to pressure and released them.’’
Two months ago, she said the NEMA in collaboration with the Nigerian Embassy in Libya, evacuated over 2000 Nigerians from Libya.
“The Nigerian embassy in Libya, working with NEMA has relentlessly intervened in cases involving Nigerians in trouble in Libya and will continue to do so.
She said that Libyans were dealing with their own struggles as there was no recognised government in place. Nigerians, she warned, should avoid Libya.
Nigerians seeking economic refuge in Europe have in recent years made Libya their transit route. Human traffickers with contacts in Europe also used Libya as the transit pad to ferry migrants out of Africa and into diverse slavish endeavour in Europe.
