The National Emergency Management Agency has received 181 Nigerian returnees from Tripoli, Libya, under the Assisted Voluntary Return programme facilitated by the International Organisation for Migration in partnership with the Federal Government.
PUNCH Metro learnt from a post on NEMA’s X account on Tuesday.
The agency stated that its Lagos Operations Office received the returnees in collaboration with the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons.
According to the statement, “The National Emergency Management Agency, Lagos Operations Office, in collaboration with the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, has received 181 Nigerian returnees from Tripoli, Libya, under the ongoing Assisted Voluntary Return programme facilitated by the International Organisation for Migration in partnership with the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“The returnees arrived on April 27, 2026, at approximately 20:13 hours at the cargo terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, aboard an Air Buraq Airline flight with registration number 5A-BAB.
“The breakdown of the returnees includes 159 adults, comprising 64 males and 95 females; 12 children, made up of five males and seven females; and 10 infants, comprising six males and four females.”
According to the statement, “Upon arrival, officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service carried out biometric registration and documentation to ensure accurate records and facilitate seamless reintegration.”
The agency noted, “In line with the Federal Government’s commitment to ensuring the safe, dignified, and humane return of its citizens, the returnees were provided with immediate humanitarian assistance, including food and potable water; medical care; ambulance services; luggage handling; logistics support; as well as counselling and coordination services.”
It added, “The reception exercise was successfully conducted in an orderly manner through effective collaboration among relevant stakeholders, ensuring the provision of necessary support services to the returnees.”
Less than a month earlier, NEMA, in collaboration with the IOM, had received another 145 Nigerian returnees evacuated from Benghazi, Libya, in March.
The evacuees arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport at about 8:27 p.m. aboard an Al Buraq Airlines flight under the Assisted Voluntary Return programme.
According to the Head of NEMA’s Lagos Operations Office, Mohammed Olatunde, the returnees comprised 122 adults — 46 males and 76 females — as well as 29 children (13 boys and 16 girls) and 27 infants, including 17 males and 10 females.
