Returnees queue to be attended to by state officials after alighting from chartered aircraft that brought home 150 migrants from Libya at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos, on December 5, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / PIUS UTOMI EKPEI
Amid the global outcry over hellish migrant camps in Libya, many African leaders have accused the country of racism and crimes against their African “brothers”.
But for those who have returned from the living hell, it’s not only the Libyans who are profiting from the “migrant business”. Illegal migrants are also the prey of sub-Saharan mafia groups, especially Nigerians.
Daniel* was a student when smugglers convinced him to travel to Europe, which many migrants see as the path to a prosperous life. “In two weeks, you will be in Italy,” they promised him.
But 10 months later, in early December, the 28-year-old Nigerian was repatriated to Benin City, his hometown, after enduring kidnapping, violence and forced labour.
Nigerian ‘mafia’ working with Libyans to smuggle migrants
