The Nigerian government has warned citizens of the country against embarking on a trip to troubled Libya henceforth.
The warning came from the office of the senior special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on foreign affairs and diaspora Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa.
According to Dabiri-Erewa, there have been recent reports of killing of black immigrants in the troubled country and even though the stories have not been clearly verified, she is calling for Nigerians to avoid the country since Libya had been known for killing alleged illegal immigrants.
“The attention of the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora has been drawn to a video and pictures being circulated on the purported killing of black immigrants in Libya. While the authenticity of the pictures and tapes in question cannot be verified, it is a known fact that Libya has been executing alleged black illegal immigrants for years”, she said.
“As the Chairman Committee on Diaspora in the House of Representatives in the Seventh Assembly, we intervened in the case of 24 Nigerians about to be killed in Libya.
“The Committee, in collaboration with SERAP, an NGO, petitioned the UN, AU, ECOWAS, and Ghadaffi yielded to pressure and released them.
“As at two months ago, NEMA alongside, the Nigerian Embassy in Libya evacuated over 2000 Nigerians from Libya.
“The Nigerian embassy in Libya, working with NEMA has relentlessly intervened in cases involving Nigerians in trouble in Libya and will continue to do so.
“Libyans are dealing with their own struggles as there is no recognized government in place.
“The office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora hereby appeals again to Nigerian migrants to avoid Libya as penalty for illegal migration to Libya, when caught, is usually a death sentence”, her statement concluded.
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