140 Europe-bound Nigerians stranded in Niger Republic evacuated, returned home

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), on Saturday, said 140 Nigerians who were stranded in Niger Republic while trying to travel to various European countries through the desert, have been rescued and returned home.

While receiving the returnees, the NEMA Coordinator for the Kano Territorial Office, Nuradeen Abdullahi, said the Nigerians were evacuated from Agadas in Niger.

Abdullahi said the returnees were brought back to Kano at about 9:38 p.m. in three luxury buses under the care of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

The NEMA Coordinator noted that the returnees were brought back through a “voluntary repatriation programme for the distressed who had left the country to seek greener pastures in various European countries and could not afford to return when their journey became frustrated.”

Read also:Nigerians to pay more for data, calls as govt announces 12.5% excise duty on telecom services

“The returnees included 100 male adults, 30 female adults and 10 children (six female and four male),” he said.

“The returnees are from different parts of the country, some from Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Jos, Lagos and Cross River, among other states,” Abdullahi added.

He explained that the returnees would be trained for four days to be self-reliant and given a grant to start off small businesses.

“Nigerians should avoid endangering their lives by travelling to seek for greener pastures in other countries as no country is better than Nigeria,” Abdullahi said.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now