By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Nigerians have been warned by the Federal Government to stop going to Libya because it is very hostile to migrants.
This warning comes as the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) begins the evacuation of about 2000 Nigerians from the country.
Speaking in a statement, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, explained that the plea became necessary because of a video and pictures being circulated on the purported killing of black immigrants in Libya.
The President’s aide said, “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.”
“As at two months ago, NEMA alongside, 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.
Mrs Dabiri-Erewa stressed that “Libyans are dealing with their own struggles as there is no recognised government in place.”
“The office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora hereby appeals again to Nigerian migrants to avoid Libya as penalty for illegal migration to Libya, when caught, is usually a death sentence,” the statement concludes.
Adedapo Adesanya