Louis Ibah

Libya is to deport about 131 Nigerians on Wednesday for illegally migrating and residing in the country. 
our correspondent learnt that the deportees are expected to arrive in Nigeria at about 9 pm on Wednesday through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos aboard a chartered aircraft, a Boeing 787-800, belonging to Buraq Airlines with the registration number 5ADMG.
A source close to one of the security agencies at the Lagos airport explained that the Nigerians had sought to use Libya as a transit route into Europe.  But having failed in their bid, they had found themselves stranded in the North African country leading to their subsequent arrest and detention in Libya for months for breach of their immigration laws.
“The 131 Nigerians to be deported consists of males, females and toddlers; they were caught entering and residing in Libya illegally,” said the source.
“All the security agencies at the Lagos airport have been notified of the impending return of the 131 Nigerians,” added the official who wouldn’t want to be named.
It was however learnt that the stranded Nigerians would be assisted through the humanitarian efforts of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and special funding from European Union (EU) for reintegration process for the voluntary returnees from Libya.
In the last two years, these international agencies in collaboration with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had assisted over 13, 000 Nigerians stranded in Libya to return home.