THE Nigerian Mission in Libya has facilitated the release of 40 Nigerian irregular migrants from the Bir Al-Ghanam detention facility in Libya.

The charge D’Affaires En Titre of the Nigerian Mission in Libya, Kabiru Musa, disclosed this in a statement issued on Wednesday, June 29.

He said the inmates, mostly women, were released on Tuesday, June 28.

“On Tuesday, June 27, 2023, the mission, in its continuous consular assistance to Nigerians in Libya, secured the release of forty irregular migrants who were arrested for immigration offences and detained by Libyan immigration authorities for almost two months,” he said.

The charge D’Affaires En Titre of the Mission said 34 inmates in the group are women who are victims of trafficking gangs. The six others are men.

There have been many cases of trafficking of Nigerians, often involving women and children, to other African countries, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The global non-profit said the situation is driven by poverty, conflict, discrimination and injustice in Nigeria.

Speaking on the latest incident, Musa said the women were lured from Nigeria to Libya by traffickers who used them for manual labour.

“Among the arrested Nigerians are 34 females and six males who were detained at Bir Al-Ghanam detention facility that is about 150 miles away from Tripoli, the capital city.

“It was discovered that most of them were lured into travelling to Libya for greener pasture by their would-be traffickers, but they ended up under exploitation and enforced labour.

“On arrival at the embassy, we received them and admonished them on the need to return home with a promise never to embark on such a deadly journey through the desert again.”

The envoy urged the inmates to provide information about their traffickers in Nigeria and Libya

He said the Nigerians released will continue to be catered for by the Mission until they are repatriated.

“I also encouraged them to feel at home and be willing to give information about their traffickers and agents in Nigeria and Libya so that they can be arrested and punished for their crimes against humanity.

“In the meantime, the Mission will continue to cater for their needs, including feeding, accommodation, clothing and medicals until they can be repatriated home through the International Organisation for Migration (IOM),” Musa said.

Thousands of Nigerians have fallen prey to sophisticated trafficking gangs, living and too often dying in harsh conditions far from home.

25,000 Nigerian women and girls are trapped in Mali 

More than 25,000 trafficked Nigerian women and girls are currently trapped in Mali, according to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).

NAPTIP said its investigation into this “category of victims revealed that they were attracted to Malian men because they spend more money on women compared to Nigerian men”.

“The second major reason is that Malian men are proud of sleeping with women from Nigeria, the giant of Africa,” NAPTIP added.