The Nigerian government through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said it has successfully repatriated 298 of its citizens who were trapped in prisons in Libya since it began a repatriation exercise on August 21, 2023.

The agency made this known on Monday via its X (formerly Twitter) handle.

In the statement, the 298 persons included 124 females, 174 males, three infants and six children.

“Within a span of a week, a total of 298 Nigerian individuals who had been trapped in Libyan prisons were successfully repatriated to their home country. These individuals arrived in two separate chartered flights – the first flight on August 21, 2023, brought 161 returnees, while the second flight brought 137 returnees and arrived today.

“These returnees, most of whom were women, had endured distressing experiences during their time in detention camps in troubled northern Africa. They expressed that they wouldn’t wish such experiences on anybody.

“The profile of the returnees is as follows: 119 adult females, many of whom were pregnant, along with 3 female children and 2 female infants Additionally, there were 170 adult males, 3 male children, and 1 male infant, making up the total of 298 individuals who were brought back,” the statement read.

It further stated that the repatriation exercise started on August 21 to August 28 and it was made possible through the efforts of IOM, NEMA, Port Health, and NCFRM.

“The returnees were transported via an Al Buraq Air Boeing 737-800 aircraft with registration number 5A-DMG. They arrived at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammad International Airport in Ikeja at approximately 17:38 on Monday night.

“The repatriation process was coordinated by several agencies, all of which were present at the airport to receive the returnees”, the statement ended.