12,974 Migrants Return To Nigeria In Two Years —UN-IOM

The UN-International Organisation on Migration says it has been involved in the evacuation of 12,974 irregular migrants from other countries back to Nigeria in the last two years.

The Public Information Officer of the organisation in Nigeria, Mr Jorge Galindo, disclosed this on Thursday in an interview with our correspondent in   Enugu State.

Galindo spoke on the sidelines of a media dialogue with Nigerian editors and heads of media establishments.

He said that out of the lot, the organisation had initiated integration programmes for about 5000 of the returnees.

He recalled that the IOM’s operations started in the country in 2001.

He said that they had since begun to implement a host of different projects in Abuja and Lagos as well as addressing humanitarian issues in North East Nigeria.

On the European Union/IOM Joint Initiative on Migration, Galindo said that their aim was to bring back about 13,000 irregular migrants trapped in Libya and other African countries back to Nigeria.

He said that the first flight that brought irregular migrants back to Nigeria under the initiative was on April 11, 2017.

“We assist migrants returning from Libya, Mali and other countries by providing them with assistance, protection and channel them through appropriate integration programmes.

“There are still more migrants that are trapped in horrible conditions in Libya and we will continue this programme for many more to return voluntarily and safely.

“We look at the profiles of the returnees and decide with them the best form of support they need,” he said.