403 Nigerians including children stranded in Niger republic have been returned to the country.
Speaking during the reception exercise at the Nigerian Immigration Service Training School in Kano at the weekend, the federal commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), hon. Aliyu Tijani, said the returnees comprises of 52 households including 165 males, 56 females, 182 children and infants.
Represented by the commission’s state coordinator, Mrs. Lubah Liman, the commissioner said the second batch of 392 were voluntarily returned on Saturday following the arrival of the first batch of 11 that returned on Tuesday, 17th December 2024.
According to him, the success of the humanitarian return was carried out through a coordinated multi-agency effort jointly organized by the Nigerian Mission in Niamey and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
While reiterating the federal government commitment to reintegrating the returnees into various government programs under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, he said the ongoing effort reflects government’s determination at ensuring the safe and dignified return of Nigerians stranded abroad.
Hon. Tijani however noted that upon arrival, the returnees were profiled by officers from NCFRMI and the Nigerian Immigration Service while representatives from the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the Department of State Security (DSS), the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and the Kano State Emergency Management Agency were on ground to provide additional support.
He further commended the collaborative efforts among the participating agencies, noting that, it has yielded success of the operation.
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