THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
According to the information of Refugees4Refugees, a rights group, 34 Nigerians were deported to their home country on Tuesday (15 March). It was the first deportation carried out onboard a charter flight this year.
The deportees, who were forcibly returned aboard an aircraft belonging to Iberojet to Lagos, are persons whose asylum claims had be rejected.
Thirty of the 34 persons were from Germany while the rest were deported from Austria.
The deported persons are reported to have been transferred to a hotel in Lagos after their arrival where they will be quarantined for the next 7 days.
Refugees4Refugees had issued a ‘Last Minute Deportation Warning!’ four days prior to the deportation, in which the group warned that “Duldung status holders are by this notice reminded about the need to check up with their Lawyers or asylum counsellors on the actual situation of their asylum appeals – especially for those who have received invitations to visit the foreign office on Monday and Tuesday.”
The refugee support group added “More also, persons who had submitted their Nigerian passport based on the interest to secure their working permits with no pending application for the so-called Beschäftigungsduldung or Ausbildungsduldung should also take note of this information”.
In a similar development, 162 Nigerians stranded in Libya have returned to the country on Tuesday.
The returnees arrived at the Cargo Wing of Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos aboard Boeing 737-800 Al Buraq Air with registration number 5A-DMG.
According to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), 41 of the 162 returnees are female adults, five are girls, six are female infants, 96 are adult males, nine are boys and five are male infants.
It added that of the returnees brought back to the country by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), three male adults have minor medical issues.
NEMA said it was the 91st flight to convey Nigerians stranded in Libya back to the country since April 2017, while at least 24,000 people have since returned to Nigeria.
Austin Ohaegbu
