A batch of 218 Nigerians has voluntarily returned from Libya where they had been stranded en route Europe.

The returnees, which included seven pregnant women, arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at 3.44 a.m. aboard a chartered Libyan Airlines Airbus A330-200 aircraft with registration number 5A-LAU.

They comprised of 46 adult females, five female infants, 161 adult males, two male children and four male infants.

The returnees were brought with the assistance of the International Organisation for Migration and the European Union.

The South West Zonal Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency, Alhaji Yakubu Suleiman, said a total of 8,129 Nigerians had returned so far under the EU and IOM Assisted Voluntary Returnees Programme.

One of the returnees, Ms Titilayo Kayode-Owojori, from Ile Ife, Osun, regretted embarking on the ill-fated journey but thanked God for returning home safely.

She said,

“Nigeria is far better than where we thought we could get better lives. The Libyans live with the sweat of the blacks.

“If the Arabs see us working and collecting wages, they wait and bust our houses to collect the money. 

“If they don’t see any money, they will kidnap us and ask us to call Nigeria to send us money to free ourselves. If we can’t raise money, we will be sold or imprisoned.”