The Federal Government has condemned the airstrike on a Libyan Migrant camp, which killed 44 people including Nigerians in the war-torn country on Wednesday.
Chairman/CEO Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) Abike Dabiri-Erewa, made this condemnation in a statement on Thursday even as she condoled with the families of the nine Nigerians involved in early Wednesday’s airstrike on migrant detention centre in Libya.
In the statement issued by the Head of the Media team of (NIDCOM), Abdulrahman Balogun, Dabiri-Erewa said it was disheartening that nine Nigerians have been identified as victims in the unfortunate incident, stressing that “it was regrettable that migrants survived a treacherous journey only to be killed in someone else’s war in Libya.”
She said that it was painful that the affected Nigerians, who were due to be airlifted back to Nigeria, were cut down in their prime.
The NIDCOM boss reiterated her calls for Nigerians especially the youths to shun movement into hostile countries, and if they must travel, go legally with a legitimate mission to those countries.
Dabiri-Erewa prayed for the repose of the souls of all that died in the airstrike and sent condolence message to the families of the victims
She noted that over 13,000 migrants had been brought home so far, from Libya, and thanked the International Organization for Migration IOM , NEMA and other international agencies involved in the evacuation of the migrants, while she 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 center in Tajoura, east of Tripoli in Libya, Wednesday morning through an airstrike attack.
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 center were registered to return to their home countries through the U.N. agency’s voluntary migrant return program, which helps arrange their documents and transport.
IOM has moved around 40,000 migrants out of Libya through the same program.
The airstrike on the Tajoura center, where around 600 people were being held, came less than two months after another airstrike landed less than 100 meters from the center, injuring two .
