61 Trafficked Nigerians Migrants en Route to Libya Rescued

61 victims of human trafficking were rescued in Maiadua, Katsina, according to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).

This was revealed to the media on Tuesday by NAPTIP Kano zonal commander Abdullahi Babale.

"On their journey to Libya, the victims were saved by the Nigeriene police in the Niger Republic," Mr Babale said.

The rescue operation, he said, was carried out by officers and soldiers from the Joint Border Task Force (JBTF) in Katsina, in coordination with the Nigeria Immigration Service.

"There are 29 males and 32 females among the casualties, ranging in age from 19 to 50." Edo, Imo, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Ondo, and Lagos are among the victims, he said. "Cross Rivers, Delta, Kano, Kwara, Benue, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi, Kogi, and Gombe states are among the others."

The victims are currently receiving counselling in a shelter, according to Babale, and an inquiry has been launched.

Last December, more than 160 migrants drowned in two separate shipwrecks off Libya over the past week, a United Nations migration official said Tuesday. The fatalities were the latest disasters in the Mediterranean Sea involving migrants seeking a better life in Europe.

Safa Msehli, a spokeswoman for the International Organization for Migration, said at least 102 migrants were reported dead after their wooden boat capsized off Libya on Friday. At least eight others were rescued and returned to shore, she said.

The second shipwreck took place Saturday. The Libyan coast guard retrieved at least 62 bodies of migrants, Msehli said. The same day, the coast guard intercepted a third wooden boat with at least 210 migrants on board, she said.

The new deaths have brought the tally in the central Mediterranean route to around 1,500 migrants drowned this year, Msehli said.

Recent months have seen a surge in crossings and attempted crossings from Libya as authorities accelerated their deadly crackdown on migrants in the capital of Tripoli.

Around 31,500 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya in 2021, compared to nearly 11,900 migrants the previous year, according to the IOM. Around 980 migrants were dead or presumed dead in 2020, the U.N. agency said.