NEMA receives 105 stranded Nigerians from Chad

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said it received 105 stranded Nigerians from Chad (N’djamena) at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano on Monday.

Kano State territorial coordinator of the agency, Dr Nuradeen Abdullahi, made the disclosure while receiving the returnees in Kano.

He said they arrived at the international wing of the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport at about 10pm onboard a Boeing 737-7k9 ASKY Airlines plane operated by Ethiopian Airlines KP9401 with registration number ET-ANH.

He said they were brought back to Kano under the care of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) through a voluntary repatriation programme.

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“The programme was meant for the distressed Nigerians who had left the country to seek greener pastures in various European countries but could not afford to return when their journey became frustrating.

“Those received included 24 male adults, 23 female adults and 58 children (33 females and 25 males). They are from Katsina, Kano, Adamawa, Borno, Yobe and Taraba states among others,” he said.

Abdullahi explained that the returnees would be trained for four days on vocational skills and would be given the grant to become self-reliant, urging them to join in the advocacy and sensitisation against irregular migration.

He added that the agency, between May and October 2022, received 560 Nigerians stranded from Niger Republic and Sudan.

One of the returnees, Aminu Musa, from Kano State, said he travelled to Libya to seek greener pastures because he was an orphan and his sick mother could not cater for the family.

“My father died three years ago and things have not been easy for the family, so I decided to seek greener pastures.

“During my stay in Libya for two years, my friend that we travelled together was kidnapped.

“We suffered a lot and I decided to go back to Chad because I was scared of being kidnapped too. It was only the grace of God that brought me back,” he said.