140 Nigerians Voluntarily Return From Niger Republic

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) says it received 140 Nigerians stranded in Agadas, Niger Republic.

The NEMA Coordinator, Kano Territorial Office, Dr Nuradeen Abdullahi, confirmed this while receiving the returnees in Kano on Saturday.

He said they were brought back to Kano at about 9.38 pm in three luxury buses under the care of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) from Agadas.

Abdullahi noted that the returnees were brought back through a voluntary repatriation programme for the distressed who had left the country to seek greener pastures in various European countries and could not afford to return when their journey became frustrated.

"The returnees included 100 male adults, 30 female adults and 10 children (six female and four male)", he said.

“The returnees are from different parts of the country, some from Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Jos, Lagos and Cross River, among other states.”

The coordinator further explained that the returnees would be trained for four days to be self-reliant and be given a grant to start off businesses.

The returnees were given clothes, food, toiletries, blankets, mosquito nets, pampers and sanitary pads each.

He asked returnees to preach against irregular migration as they are first-hand witnesses of the hardships experienced.