The National Emergency Management Agency, on Wednesday, disclosed that it received another batch of 148 stranded Nigerians from Niamey, Niger Republic.
NEMA Coordinator, Kano Territorial Office, Nuradeen Abdullahi, confirmed their arrival while receiving the returnees at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport.
According to Abdullahi, the returnees arrived aboard SKY MALI Airlines operated by Ethiopian airline B737-400, with registration number UR-CQX around 4:06 p.m. on Tuesday.
He explained that the International Organisation for Migration facilitated their return from Niamey (Niger Republic) via a voluntary repatriation programme.
The programme, according to him, is meant for the distressed who left the country in search of greener pastures in different European countries but could not afford to offset the cost of their return.
The returnees from Lagos, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa and Kaduna, among other states, comprised 94 males, 25 females and 29 children (13 males and 16 females).
“The returnees would undergo a three-day training toward self-sufficiency and would be provided with seed capital to enable them engage in productive ventures to be self-reliant,” Abdullahi said.
The coordinator advised Nigerian youths to avoid endangering their lives by travelling to seek greener pastures in other countries, adding that no country is better than Nigeria.
He urged them to put behind their experiences and be ambassadors towards advocacy and sensitisation against irregular migration.
The agency, between February and April, received a total of 548 stranded Nigerians from Niamey, Niger Republic, and Chad.
All the returnees were received by NEMA, alongside other sister security agencies, which included SEMA, Nigeria Red Cross, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs and DSS.
