THE National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said 104 stranded Nigerians have been repatriated from the Republic of Chad.
The stranded Nigerians were returned through the aid of a voluntary repatriation programme of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
Speaking with journalists on Tuesday, April 11 at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, the Kano State Coordinator of NEMA, Nurudeen Abdullahi stated that the returnees were conveyed to Nigeria by SKY MALI Airlines, operated by Ethiopian Airline B737-500 with registration number UR-CQ.
Abdullahi who was represented by the NEMA Head of Human Resources in Kano State, Suleiman Sa’ad-Abubakar, said the returnees comprised 34 males, 18 females and 52 children
He noted that the repatriated migrants are natives of Kano, Katsina, Borno, Akwa Ibom and Yobe states.
According to Abdullahi, the IOM’s programme is aimed at returning distressed persons who had left the country to seek greener pastures in European countries but could not afford to return when their journey became frustrated.
The NEMA coordinator stressed that the returnees would be trained under different skills acquisition programmes to facilitate their integration into society.
“The government will train the returnees under skill acquisition programmes to enable them to learn trades and become self-reliant to fast-track their integration into the society.”
He, however, urged the returnees to be law-abiding and avoid endangering their lives by travelling in search of greener pastures elsewhere.
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