The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has continuously briefed the public on the efforts of the Ministry as well as that of the Embassy of Nigeria in Libya in addressing the plight of Nigerian migrants in that country.
Further to this, the Ministry wishes to remind the public that the emergency phone numbers to contact our Embassy in Libya for assistance are: +218910144487, +218925099384 and +218917953365.
The contact email addresses for the Embassy and the Ministry are: [email protected] and
Indeed, through these contacts, the Embassy has been
receiving requests for intervention from some relations of the victims who are based in Nigeria.
The Ministry also indicated that the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency, Geoffrey Onyeama has invited the Charge d’Affaires, en titre (Head of Mission) in the Embassy, Mr. Iliya Danladi Fachano, to Abuja for consultations.
He is in Abuja already and during the period of the consultations, arrangements have been made for him to address press conferences on the issue.
This would afford the Nigerian public the opportunity to hear from him directly.
The Ministry equally wishes to inform the public that the Embassy has been visiting detention camps to identify Nigerians for registration and issue Emergency Travel Certificates (ETC) to them.
As of today, the Embassy has a record of 2,778 registered Nigerians in accessible detention camps and they are ready for repatriation;
Read Also:
The Embassy, in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), repatriates 250 Nigerian migrants by flight to Lagos weekly – each flight can accommodate only 250 passengers;
Thus far, the Embassy, in collaboration with the IOM has repatriated about 3,000 Nigerians;
From the 2,778 registered Nigerians who are still in detention camps, by tomorrow, Tuesday 5th of December, 2017, another set of 250 Nigerian migrants will be arriving at Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos at 7pm to be received by NEMA officials;
The repatriation is a continuous exercise and the Embassy routinely issues the requisite travel documents to the migrants;
The Embassy will continue to engage the legitimate government in Libya and other stakeholders in addressing the plight of Nigerian migrants in that country.
The Ministry would like to seize this opportunity to advise intending Nigerian travelers to avoid Libya at this period, because of the dangers they may encounter in the process of their journey.
On the report of the slave market in Libya, the African Union Chairman has condemned such act if discovered to be true. The Federal Government has equally condemned it through a Press Release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 26th November, 2017 while noting the challenges that the Libyan government is facing in the maintenance of law and order.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs planned to engage the United Nations, African Union, European Union and other stakeholders to ensure that the perpetrators of the slavery are brought to justice and that the phenomenon is brought to an end, as it violates the fundamental human rights of the victims and it is unacceptable to the civilized world.
Signed
Tiwatope Adeleye Ellias-Fatile,
Spokesperson
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja
4th December, 2017
