LIBYAN authorities have deported 80 Nigerian migrants from various detention centres as part of ongoing efforts to reduce irregular migration and decongest overcrowded facilities.
In a statement on Wednesday, Migrant Rescue Watch, a group monitoring migrant welfare and human rights in Libya, said the Department for Combating Illegal Migration (DCIM), in partnership with the Nigerian Consulate in Tripoli, facilitated the repatriation exercise via Mitiga International Airport.
“DCIM with Nigerian consular support, repatriated 80 migrants of Nigerian nationality via Mitiga Int. Airport in Tripoli. The group includes migrants transferred by the Judicial Police who were served with judicial deportation order,” part of the statement read.
It added that the latest group of returnees included migrants who had previously been transferred under judicial orders.
“Judicial Police Dept. on orders of Public Prosecutor’s Office transferred a group of undocumented migrant females of Nigerian nationality to DCIM custody in Tripoli. All females were served with judicial deportation order and are awaiting deportation,” the statement added.
It noted that the move came as Libyan authorities, working alongside diplomatic missions, stepped up efforts to manage undocumented migrants and tackle issues of overcrowding and human rights in detention centres.
This followed a similar action by the Libyan authorities in 2024, where 369 Nigerians and Malians were deported.
The ICIR also reported earlier today that International Organisation for Migration (IOM) revealed that two Nigerians were rescued, while two others lost their lives after a vessel carrying 49 people capsized in the Mediterranean Sea.
IOM said that Nigerians were among 49 migrants and refugees aboard a rubber boat that departed from Zuwara in northwest Libya around 3 a.m. on November 3.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.