The Federal Government has disclosed that 545 Nigerian migrants will be repatriated from Libya today.
This is coming barely 24 hours after 485 returnees from Libya arrived Nigeria on Sunday.
The Director General of National Emergency Management Agency, Engr Mustapha Maihaja stated that the returnees are part of the 5, 037 stranded Nigerians identified for evacuation back home.
Maihaja was speaking at a joint press conference by the Federal Government delegation to Libya to commence the mass evacuation of Nigerians stranded in the North African country to Nigeria.
The new returnees would arrive Port Harcourt International Airport, Rivers State, he said.
A reception centre has been set up in Port Harcourt, Rivers State where the returnees on their arrival would be formally received and profiled before being transported to their various states.
The delegation is led by the Minister of Foreign Minister Affairs Geoffrey Onyema and comprising the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Abike Dabiri-Erewa and Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service Muhammadu Babandede.
Others are Director General National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons Julie Okah-Donli and Federal Commissioner National Commission for Refugees Sadiya Umar Faruq.
The immigration boss Babandede disclosed that a total of 16,387 Nigerians were deported from different countries in 2017.
Of this figure, Babandede said 5,980 Nigerians were evacuated from Libya, 3,836 from Saudi Arabia while South Africa and other European countries deported 6,643 Nigerians in 2017.
The Nigerian mission in Libya is coordinating the identification of the Nigerian migrants with the support of the International Organization for Migration and are being joined by a technical team comprising representatives from NEMA, Immigration and other all relevant government agencies.
Two indigenous carriers are engaged for the evacuation exercises of stranded Nigerians from Libya.
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