The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said it had received 153 Nigerians who returned from Chad under the Assisted Voluntary Return Programme, coordinated by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in partnership with the Federal Government.
In a statement posted on X on Tuesday, NEMA’s Lagos Operations Office said the returnees arrived at the Cargo Terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on Sunday, October 27, 2025, around 12:15 p.m.
“The breakdown of the returnees includes 105 adults (63 males and 42 females), 45 children (25 males and 20 females), and 3 infants (all females),” part of the statement read.
The agency said upon arrival, officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) conducted biometric registration and documentation to ensure accurate profiling and facilitate the smooth reintegration of the returnees into the country.
“In line with the Federal Government’s commitment to ensuring the safe, dignified, and humane return of citizens, the returnees were provided with immediate humanitarian assistance, including food and potable water, medical care and ambulance services, luggage handling and logistics support, as well as general coordination and counselling services,” the agency said.
The agency noted that the exercise was jointly coordinated with IOM and the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI).
The ICIR reports that the development comes just three days after NEMA received 150 Nigerian returnees from Agadez in Niger Republic.
These latest returnees add to NEMA’s repatriation of Nigerians from neighbouring countries this year. In July, NEMA’s Kano Operations Office received 139 Nigerians who were repatriated from Agadez, Niger Republic.
The agency received 148 Nigerian migrants from Sudan in September as part of ongoing efforts to ensure the safe repatriation of citizens from abroad.
For years, Nigeria’s northern borders with the Niger Republic have remained notoriously porous, making cross-border movement both frequent and largely unregulated.
From Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Niger, Kwara, Kebbi, and Sokoto states bordering Benin Republic, to Cross River, Benue, Taraba, Adamawa Borno states bordering Cameroon, and Katsina, Jigawa, Yobe, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Borno which share border with Niger, as well as Borno bordering Chad, Nigeria has hundreds of porous borders, making illegal migration easy for residents of the neighbouring countries.
The ICIR reported in 2024 that citizens of Niger and Nigeria travelled with little to no documentation between the two nations.
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.