A total of 103 Nigerians deported from the Republic of Turkey arrived in Abuja at the weekend. They were received by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other stakeholders at the Nnamdi Arzikiwe International Airport, Abuja on Friday.
A Southwind Airlines flight TCGRB that conveyed the deportees to Nigeria touched down at about 7pm and taxied to the pilgrims wing of the airport where they were received by federal government officials led by NEMA, the agency said in a statement.
Addressing the returnees, the director general of NEMA, Mrs Zubaida Umar, advised them to accept their experience in good faith and be law-abiding. The director general who was represented by the director, North Central zone, Alhaji Bashir Idris Garga, said the returnees were received with dignity to assuage their experience and assure the concerns of the federal government over their plight. She informed them that a token of financial support had been provided to assist in their transportation to their various locations.
Other stakeholders that joined to receive the deportees included officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service, National Commission for Refugees Migrant and Internally Displaced Persons, National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Nigeria Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and NDLEA. Others are officials of Port Health Authority and National Intelligence Agency.
“Some of the deportees that spoke experienced bitterness over their deportation but appreciated the federal government for the reception,” the statement added.