Nigerian migrants stranded in Libya
and elsewhere will be bought home, President Muhammadu Buhari has said.
The decision comes after the emergence of footage showing
migrants being sold at slave auctions in Libya.
Mr Buhari said they were being
treated like goats, and vowed to do everything possible to prevent more
Nigerians making the perilous journey to Europe.
The announcement was made hours
after Libya's UN-backed authorities said they were increasing repatriation
flights.
According to news agency AFP, 140
Nigerians were voluntarily flown home in a joint operation by Libya and the UN
migrant agency.
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The plight of those trapped in Libya
- a major hub for migrants attempting to reach Europe - was highlighted by the
footage, published by US news network CNN, which shows young
men being auctioned for farm work.
The issue of people attempting to
enter Europe illegally was already expected to be high on the agenda of this
week's African Union-European Union Summit, being held in the Ivorian city of
Abidjan.
Media captionHow I smuggle people from Nigeria to Europe
Mr Buhari, who was speaking on the
sidelines of the summit, said he was appalled by what he had seen.
"Some Nigerians [in the footage]
were being sold like goats for few dollars in Libya," Mr Buhari said
during the address to the Nigerian Diaspora on Tuesday, before lashing out at
Libya.
''After 43 years of [Col Muammar]
Gaddafi, why are they recruiting so many people from the Sahel including
Nigerians?" he demanded. "All they learned was how to shoot and kill.
They didn't learn to be electricians, plumbers or any other trade."
Mr Buhari promised those who
returned would be "rehabilitated", and vowed to tackle corruption,
defeat groups like Islamist militants Boko Haram and improve things like
education to stop Nigerians leaving in the first place.
"For people to cross the Sahara
desert and Mediterranean through shanty boats… we will try and keep them at
home," he said.
Exactly how the Nigerian government
plans to enact the repatriation of its citizens is not clear.
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