A NEW set of stranded Nigerians in Libya, numbering 180,  has just arrived the country, according to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Tuesday.

Idris Muhammed, NEMA Lagos coordinator said the Nigerians arrived at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at about 9:30 pm on Monday aboard a chartered Buraq Air aircraft with registration number 5A-DMG.

According to Muhammed, the International Organisation for Migration and European Union under the Assisted Voluntary Returnees Programme helped the returnees back to the country.

The returnees consisted of 85 females and 95 males, summing up to 180 people. The breakdown of the females are 82 adults, two children, and 11 infants, while the males are made up of 79 adults, six children

Welcoming the returnees, Muhammed advised them to put their bitter experiences in the volatile North African country behind them and look to the future with renewed hope.

On March 1, not less than 300 stranded Nigerians also returned from Libya. On March 15, NEMA also announced the arrival of about 174 Nigerians to the country from Libya. So far in 2019, Nigeria has received not less than 800 stranded returnees from Libya.

NEMA Lagos boss had said earlier in March that more than 12 thousand Nigerians had so far returned from Libya since April 2017. According to him, over 4,900 of the returnees had been trained on various skill acquisition and empowerment training by IOM through special funding facilitated by the EU. Muhammed added that most of these returnees had set up various businesses in their choice of occupation and were contributing their quota to national development.