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The Federal Government may soon embark on massive evacuation of Nigerians in Libya, following reports that African migrants, including Nigerians, were being sold on slave auctions in that country.
The revelations by CNN a fortnight ago led to widespread condemnation, with many African countries withdrawing severing diplomatic ties with Libya.
CNN went undercover in Libya after receiving video of a slave auction in August, which showed men being bought and sold. The international news network then traveled to Libya to witness the auction of black men by smugglers.
Shocking images show black youths presented to buyers as potential farmhands and sold off for as little as $400.
Recall that 26 Nigerian girls died recently while trying to cross the Mediterranean from Libya to Europe.
Nigerians are womdering what the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration is doing about the development as he is yet to be seen to have taken any major step.
But his Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, took to Twitter to explain the situation.
She explained that “Libya is a war torn country. You can’t get to some centers outside Tripoli manned by rebels.But with attention focused on this now, Nigeria is working on getting access to these centers and embark on a massive evacuation. Many been stranded for years. PMB admin rescuing them”.
She explained that the government had been acting even before the CNN report.
“That is why Nigeria has been bringing back stranded Nigerians from Libya”, she said. “Over 4000 returned so far with support of IOM. in the last six months.What Nigeria needs to do now is a massive evacuation”.