…calls for national campaign against irregular migration
The Senate has called on the federal government to step up efforts toward the repatriation and rehabilitation of Nigerians stranded in Libya.
Lawmakers also urged the launch of a nationwide enlightenment campaign discouraging irregular migration, particularly to conflict-prone regions.
The resolutions followed the adoption of a motion titled “Urgent Need to Protect Nigerians from Trafficking, Slavery, and Human Rights Abuses in Libya,” sponsored by Senator Aniekan Bassey (Akwa Ibom North-East), during Tuesday’s plenary.
Bassey expressed deep concern over the worsening condition of Nigerians held in Libyan detention camps, revealing that over 1,000 citizens were repatriated in the first quarter of 2025—many of them survivors of torture, sexual assault, and organ harvesting.
He cited the case of Mercy Olugbenga, a young Nigerian woman who sold her family property and dropped out of school to seek greener pastures, but ended up detained in Libya for over a year. According to him, “her blood was repeatedly extracted against her will.”
Following deliberations, the Senate urged the federal government, through the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, and state governments, to establish a comprehensive reintegration programme for returnees.
The lawmakers said the initiative should include psychosocial support, vocational training, and start-up grants to help survivors rebuild their lives.
The upper chamber also tasked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to strengthen diplomatic engagement with Libyan authorities and collaborate with the African Union (AU), ECOWAS, and the United Nations to secure the release and safety of Nigerians still held in detention.
Supporting the motion, Senator Anthony Ani (Ebonyi South) described the recurring abuses as “a recurring decimal in our national life,” calling for stronger institutional responses to human trafficking and exploitation.
Senator Adams Oshiomhole (Edo North) expressed sympathy for the victims but emphasised the need for mass sensitization.
“We have a duty, through the National Orientation Agency or any other body, to educate our people. After Gaddafi’s fall, Libya is no longer what it used to be,” Oshiomhole said.
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (Kogi Central) added an amendment urging the Nigerian Immigration Service and the Nigerian Correctional Service to collaborate with Libyan authorities in repatriating Nigerian women and children born in detention.
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“These women were victims twice over—first of traffickers, then of a broken system. Their children, born behind bars, must not suffer for crimes they did not commit,” she said.
Senator Victor Umeh (Anambra Central) condemned the inhumane treatment of Nigerians across some African countries, calling it “a betrayal of Africa’s shared humanity.” He urged the Federal Government and the AU to act decisively to protect citizens abroad.
In his remarks, Senate President Godswill Akpabio appealed to young Nigerians to resist the temptation of irregular migration.
“Home is home. Let us build our nation together, for there is no greater pride than being safe and free in one’s homeland,” he said.
