Factsheet On The Migrant Crisis Involving Nigerian Citizens

1). The Buhari Administration recognises the seriousness of the migrant situation, across West Africa, the Sahel, North Africa, Europe and the Middle East, and is taking steps to decisively address the situation. The President has described news reports of the enslavement of persons in Libya as appalling and unacceptable. Read the Statement featuring the President’s remarks, here

2). President Buhari has directed the constitution of a Committee of relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and law enforcement agencies to address the issues.

3). President Buhari has assured that all Nigerians in Libya and elsewhere will be assisted to return safely to Nigeria. More than 5,000 Nigerians have returned home in 2017, according to NEMA. About 90 percent of them returned from Libya, and the remaining from Saudi Arabia. Repatriation is ongoing; a batch of 242 Nigerians arrived Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, at 9pm Tuesday November 28, 2017, and were received by government officials. 

4). In line with the President’s mandate, on Wednesday November 29, Vice President Osinbajo chaired a meeting attended by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Minister of Justice, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Directors-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), and the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI). Watch a video of the Vice President’s remarks at the Meeting, here

5). The three agencies have been working with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to resettle and reintegrate returning Nigerians. These agencies are also stepping up their education and sensitisation campaigns, targeted at vulnerable persons.

6). Nigeria’s security agencies are also collaborating to arrest and prosecute the local and international criminal networks responsible for human trafficking and enslavement.

7). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is strengthening its engagements with concerned foreign governments, to ensure that Nigerian citizens are better treated and protected abroad. 

8). On Wednesday November 29, on the sidelines of the 5th AU-EU Summit in Abidjan, President Buhari held a bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel where the issue of stemming the tide of illegal migration of Nigerians to Europe took the front-burner. The two leaders agreed to strengthen legal migration and made a commitment to expand discussions on how to stem the tide of illegal migration.

Press Release: President Buhari Vows to Return Stranded Nigerians Home From Libya

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday night in Abidjan declared that all Nigerians stranded in Libya and other parts of the world will be brought home and rehabilitated.

The President while speaking when he addressed Nigerians in the Diaspora, vowed to reduce the number of Nigerians heading for Europe illegally through the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea by providing basic social amenities such as education, healthcare, and food security at home.

In an interactive session with members of the Nigerian Community in Cote D’ Ivoire, on the margins of the 5th AU-EU Summit, President Buhari said all necessary steps will be taken to stem the tide of illegal migration by Nigerians.

He, however, noted that it is very difficult to know the origin of the people who died, while attempting the perilous journey across the Mediterranean, because of lack of documentation.

“When it was announced that 26 Nigerians died recently in the Mediterranean, before they proved that they were all Nigerians they buried them.

“But the evidence I have from the Senior Special Assistant on Diaspora and Foreign Affairs, (Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa) is that only three of them were identified as Nigerians. But I’ll not be surprised if the majority of them were Nigerians.

“For people to cross the Sahara desert and Mediterranean through shanty boats… we will try and keep them at home. But anybody who died in the desert and Mediterranean without documents; to prove that he is a Nigerian, there is absolutely nothing we can do,’’ he said.

Reacting to a recent footage on the sale of Africans in Libya, President Buhari said it was appalling that “some Nigerians (in the footage) where being sold like goats for few dollars in Libya.’’

‘‘After 43 years of Gadhafi, why are they recruiting so many people from the Sahel including Nigerians? All they learned was how to shoot and kill. They didn’t learn to be electricians, plumbers or any other trade,’’ he said.

On domestic issues, President Buhari told Nigerians in the Diaspora that there is ‘‘good news from home’’ in the area of security, economy and anti-corruption.

“We are not doing too badly in trying to secure the country, improve the economy and deal with corruption.

“We are doing our best at all levels including security. It is absolute madness for people to blow others up in markets, churches, and mosques. No religion advocates violence. Justice is the basic thing all religions demand and you can’t go wrong if you do it,’’ he said.

On food security, the President said that his vision of repositioning Nigeria as a food-secure nation is on course as the country is on the verge of attaining food security.

He attributed the development to positive agricultural reform programmes and bumper harvest occasioned by good weather.

According to the President, interventions through the Anchors Borrows Programme of the CBN and the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative, among others, had been very successful in the agricultural reform initiative.

“People have gone back to the farm. We got the CBN, agriculture minister and money was provided at very low interest to farmers and the farmers responded and it was very positive.

“We are lucky that we are in a position to feed ourselves. So we are going to have food security in Nigeria earlier than anybody ever thought,’’ he noted.

The President advised Nigerians in Cote D’ Ivoire to be good ambassadors in their host country, warning that the Embassy will not hesitate to repatriate those who tarnish the image of the country abroad.

Garba Shehu
Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity)
November 29, 2017.