By BOSE ADELAJA

*As another batch of 172 Libya returnees arrive Nigeria

One of the 172 returnees brought to Lagos early, yesterday, from Libya, Omoniyi Azizat, has expressed regret for deceiving her father to raise N800,000 for her botched trip to Libya.

The airlift of the 172 persons arrived the Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Lagos.

Recounting her experience in Libya, the 21-year-old Azizat from Lagos said all her hope was that Libya would be like London.

She said: “From my father’s custody, a friend convinced me to meet her in Ibadan where I was introduced to the idea of travelling to Libya where I was told that I could work and receive a monthly salary of N120,000.

“I deceived my father that I wanted to establish a business and he gave me N800,000, but I used it for the Libyan trip through the desert.

“I became a slave and prostitute in Libya; I am not lying, I raised equivalent of N2 million as a prostitute to free myself from my trafficker.

“I want to go back to school. I stopped schooling at SS2 and have learnt my lessons. The lessons are very bitter, I wasted my life.

“I do not know my father’s location. I lost everything that I thought I could bring back home when the police raided our house and threw all of us into prison.

“We were dispossessed of our savings and property. I lost the phone in which l had my father’s contact.

“I have to wait till my transport allowance is paid before I can buy phone and try to gamble with numbers to know if I can get my father’s contact.”

Less than 24 hours after a batch of 158 stranded Nigerians arrived the country from Libya, another batch of 172 stranded Nigerians have arrived from same country.

This makes it a total of 330 stranded Nigerians to be repatriated to Nigeria through the European Union.

The returnees were among those who got stranded in their failed attempt in search of greener pastures in foreign countries.

This batch consist of 92 male adults, six male children and nine male infants. In addition were 53 female adults, 12 female children and three female infants.

The returnees arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Ikeja aboard Al Buraq Airline Boeing 737-400 with registration number 5A-WAC about 9.48p.m.

They were received at the NAHCO Wing of the Airport by National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA.

Acting Coordinator of NEMA’s Lagos Territorial Office, Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, said the fresh 175 returnees had been stranded in Libya.

He said: “The returnees were brought back by the International Organisation for Migration through a voluntary repatriation programme for distressed persons.

“The EU sponsored the repatriation of the stranded Nigerians who had failed in their attempt to search for greener pastures outside Nigeria.”

(Adopted from Vanguard)

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