Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Executive Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), has condoled with families of nine Nigerians involved in early Wednesday’s airstrike on migrant detention centre in Libya, which killed 44 migrants.
Abdur-Rahman Balogun, the mefia aide to the CEO of the commission who made this known in a statement on Thursday, quoted her as saying that it was regrettable that migrants survived a treacherous journey only to be killed in someone else’s war in Libya.
“It is disheartening that nine Nigerians have been identified as victims in the unfortunate incident. Nigerians, who were due to be airlifted back to Nigeria, were cut down in their prime,” she said.
The NIDCOM boss reiterated her call for Nigerians, especially the youths, to shun movement into hostile countries, stating that if they must travel, they should do so legally with a legitimate mission to those countries.
Dabiri-Erewa prayed for the repose of the souls of all the people, who died in the airstrike and sent condolence messages to the families of the victims. She noted that more than 13.000 migrants had been brought home so far, from Libya, and expressed appreciation to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), NEMA and other international agencies involved in the evacuation of the migrants.
She, however, called on the UN to hasten up in the protection of other detention centres from such attacks.
At least 44 people were reportedly killed including nine Nigerians at a detention centre in Tajoura, east of Tripoli in Libya early on Wednesday morning through an airstrike.
It was learnt that some of those killed had been profiled to leave the country in the coming days.
In addition to those killed, IOM said that more than 180 others staying in the same detention centre were registered to return to their home countries through the UN agency’s voluntary migrant return programme, which helps arrange their documents and transport.
IOM has moved around 40,000 migrants out of Libya through the same program me.
The airstrike on the Tajoura centre where at least 600 people were being held, came less than two months after another airstrike landed less than 100 meters from the centre, injuring two people.