The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Tuesday, December 20th, received a total of 140 Nigerian returnees from the Republic of Libya.
A chartered Airbus A330-200 marked 5A- LAT belonging to Libyan Airlines that conveyed the Nigerians arrived the Murtala Muhammad International Airport about 4:30pm and the returnees were received by the National Emergency Management Agency along with other stakeholders at the cargo terminal of the airport. Soon after NEMA taken over the deportees did news began to flutter around that, Officials of the agency who were in charge of catering and providing government aid packages to the returnees were doing so while demanding that the returnees submit some of their foreign bought items in exchange for their due government provided privilege. Clothes, shoes, and jewelry were amongst items extorted from the bonafide Nigerian citizens by members of NEMA.
One of the returnees who spoke to us said his hand bracelet and wedding ring were sternly taken from him before he could be housed in the facility provided by the government, pending when he would be transported to his home or given a temporary alternative if that doesn’t succeed. A young lady still stranded at the refugee wing of the airport reported that sexual demands were made from her, her current crisis was due to the fact that she refused such advances by the officers of NEMA.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) facilitated the return of the stranded Nigerians in Libyan under its Assisted Voluntary Return (AVR) scheme while NEMA officials were supposed to receive them on behalf of the Federal Government, provide them with meals and support their movement back home in various states.
Director General of NEMA Alhaji Muhammad Sani Sidi declined to meet with reporters while the Deputy Director Search and Rescue Dr Onimode Bandele have refused to look into the cases angrily shouting at reporters that the agency had other important issues pending.
The 140 returnees were made up of 83 Females and 57 males. Among them were few number of children under 18 years and three medical cases.

Taken from NEWSPOSTS.BLOG