Libya returnee Victims -They turned us to prostitutes, starved us for days

Nigerians, especially youths, left the shores of the country in search of better living conditions, owing mostly to unemployment. Unfortunately, in their desperation, most of them fell prey to agents who sweet talked them into believing that they could

get to their dream countries if they were able to raise between N150,000 and N600,000.

At times, these agents assured their gullible clients of job opportunities on arrival and even undertook responsibilities for the travel expenses, with an agreement to get more than thrice the

amount from their clients. But unknown to many who chose to embark on the voyage to Europe

through Libya, the trip was not as easy as envisaged.

In most cases, it turned out to be a death trap in disguise, as a good number of them died in the desert and in the Mediterranean sea, without reaching their destinations.

Many of those who were alive, ended up in Libya, where they were turned into sex slaves, especially females and subjected to indescribable

dehumanizing treatment overseas. Some of the lucky ones who cried out to the Federal Government for help were brought back home with

horrible tales.

The dilemma

Records show that over 16,000 Nigerians have been repatriated from Europe, Libya and other

African countries, in the last three years. Most of these returnees were usually sighted in popular churches in Lagos, where they were given

stipends to transport themselves back to their respective hometown.

However, on arrival, they were only welcomed in the first two weeks by relatives, who thereafter, left them to begin the struggle for survival from

where they stopped. Some of these returnees who took loans for the journey, were faced with the challenges of paying back, with many of them finding it difficult to establish any business that

would keep body and soul together owing to lack of finance.

Tackling the challenge

Edo state was said to have the highest number of irregular migrants, followed by Ondo, Oyo, Delta and Ekiti states. At least over 6,000 returnees from Libya, Europe and other parts of the world have been received by the Edo State government so far. The latest returnees received on August

15, 2020, were 17 young girls and a year-old baby who were stranded in Mali.

As part of the state government’s Rehabilitation Programme, the returnees as gathered, were provided temporary accommodation before being reunited with their families, while most of them were enlisted in the entrepreneurship and farm initiatives of the state government.