FG - 1,500 Citizens Still Stranded in Libya

As the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Sunday morning flew 499 Nigerians hitherto trapped in Tripoli, the Libyan capital, to Abuja, another 1500 are still stranded in the crisis-ridden country awaiting the intervention of the Federal Government.
This comes as Nigeria has backed the United Nations Security Council's resolution imposing sanctions on the family and close associates of Libyan leader Moammar Ghadafi because it is "persuaded by the cries for help of the Libyan people".
NEMA said getting the evacuated Nigerians, who were the first batch to be flown back into the country, was made possible by the granting of diplomatic clearance to Nigeria early Saturday morning by the Libyan authorities.
The evacuees landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at about 1.25am aboard a Kabo chartered plane named Bangladesh Airline.
THISDAY could not ascertain Sunday night when the stranded 1500 Nigerians would be airlifted to Nigeria given the slow process of clearance by the Libyan immigration and the over-crowded Tripoli airport that they have found themselves.
But the chartered plane that brought back the evacuees has since returned to Libya. Another batch of 520 is being expected Monday morning.

NEMA Director General, Sani Sidi, who led the evacuation team to Libya, said the immigration process for departure was herculean because there were over 100,000 nationals of different countries trying to get out of the troubled country.
He said Nigeria and Kenya were the only African countries who were trying to get their citizens out.

"When we arrived, we had serious challenges because of various restrictions that were imposed by the Libyan government. We were inside the aircraft for about 11 hours, sitting down because we could not come down. So it is going to be a slow process," he said.
The returnees consisted of young men, women and infants. THISDAY gathered that over 90 per cent of them had no immigration papers; most were illegal immigrants. Some had planned to use Libya as a transit country through which they could sneak into Europe.
Meanwhile, 19 Nigerian prisoners serving various jail terms, with some on death row, were also released to the Federal Government.
The returnees were immediately taken to the Nigerian Army camp near the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport under heavy security, as the prisoners were expected to be handed over to Nigerian security officials.

One of the prisoners, who refused to give his name, told THISDAY that he had been wrongly jailed for the last seven years in Libya.
"Actually when I left Nigeria eight years ago, I wanted to go to Italy, not Libya. Then I saw that Libya was not a bad place, so I decided to stay there. I was working for one Arab in his farm and he did not pay me for a year. When I protested, he brought police and I was arrested and locked up. I have been in jail for the last seven years, so I am very happy to be back home," he said.

A statement by Head of Nigeria's Permanent Mission to the UN, Prof. Joy Ogwu, titled, "Nigeria - Explanation of Vote", noted that Nigeria supports "the package of sanctions in the resolution to the extent that their impact is targeted and does not exacerbate the burden upon Libyan civilians".
UN Security Council had last Saturday imposed sanctions on Ghadafi, his five children and 10 top associates over the ongoing violent repression of Libyans protesting against his 42-year-old authoritarian rule.
The sanctions, which came via Resolution 1970 and was unanimously adopted by the 15 council members, include complete arms embargo, freezing the assets of the Libyan leader, travel ban and referring the violent repression of civilian demonstrators to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Noting that it remained concerned about the escalating violence, the inflammatory rhetoric and the deplorable loss of life in the North African nation, Nigeria said it also took into consideration the letter received from the Permanent Representative of Libya, Ambassador Mohamed Shalgham, supporting the measures (sanctions) as were proposed.
Nigeria said it was satisfied that the resolution provides for the protection of civilians and respect for international humanitarian and human rights law.
It also noted that the African Union (AU), the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Arab League had condemned the disproportionate use of force against civilians in Libya.
"It was therefore fitting that the Security Council took decisive action on Saturday to address the crisis," the nation said.
Nigeria said the comprehensive sanctions would not only deter individuals from supporting the regime, but the terms of the resolution would also isolate those currently planning, coordinating and directing the atrocities.
Expressing its belief that the full implementation of these measures would swiftly and effectively address the ongoing crisis, Nigeria urged maximum cooperation from the international community to ensure the desired outcome.
The council's resolution has also been commended by the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, who said: "The actions taken by the regime in Libya are clear cut violations of all norms governing international behaviour and serious transgressions of international human rights and humanitarian law."
Ki-moon however noted that "while the measure cannot, by itself, end the violence and the repression, it is a clear expression of the will of a united community of nations".
Protests began February 15 in Benghazi, Libya's second largest city. At least several other cities are now thought to be under opposition control, according to eyewitnesses.

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