• Libyan operatives neutralise migrants at borders as FG moves to repatriate Nigerians, others
• How male Libyans sexually abuse our women in public – Nigerians
• NIDCOM keeps mum
• Our govt not culpable in killings, human rights abuses, says North African country

Many Nigerians and other African migrants in Libya are currently being caught in the web of widespread and systematic human rights violations, torture, exploitation, discrimination, detention and abuses against refugees and migrants with impunity.

Some Nigerians who live in the North African country narrated their ordeal in the hands of Libyans, their government and militias, saying the country has been killing, dehumanising and extorting migrants through illegal arrest and detention.

In their separate interviews with The Point on the telephone, Nigerians in Libya claimed that the country and its citizens now attack and show strong hatred and dislike for them and citizens of other countries.

They alleged serial arrest by security operatives and militias, adding that extortion through demand for exorbitant money for bail has been on the rise.

According to them, cases of sexual abuse by male Libyan citizens against Nigerian ladies are worsening.

“We are experiencing worse ill-treatment in the hands of the Libyan government and its people. Some of them complain that migrants are taken over in their land and that they need to send us back to our countries. We, Nigerians, are very many in this country, although, most of us did not plan to stay here (Libya). For instance, the person that facilitated my journey promised to take me to Europe before I saw myself in Libya.

“Countless of my fellow Nigerians and people from other African countries like Sudan, Niger, and others have been arrested and detained by Libyan militias. There is no explanation or justification for this arrest. These operatives will just break into your house and pick you up including women and children. In fact, a friend of mine who is pregnant was arrested last week and we are still looking at how to contribute money for her bail. She was picked up at her place after returning from work.

“The money they demand as bail is close to N1 million when converted from Libyan Dinar to Naira and if you don’t pay this money on time, there is a tendency that one may die in the prison because the place is very dirty and overcrowded. A lot of us cannot move freely here again.

“We are experiencing worse ill-treatment in the hands of the Libyan government and its people. Some of them complain that migrants are taken over in their land and that they need to send us back to our countries. We, Nigerians, are very many in this country, although, most of us did not plan to stay here (Libya). For instance, the person that facilitated my journey promised to take me to Europe before I saw myself in Libya.”

“Most male Libyans treat our ladies like animals. They sexually abuse them in public and use them for all manner of dirty works. No one dares to complain because almost everyone in Libya goes about with a gun and other dangerous weapons. Because Libya is an Islamic state, their men are not allowed to publicly have a relationship with their girls before marriage. So, this is making our girls become a dangerous species as these Libyan men satisfy their sexual urge forcefully with Nigerian ladies and other migrants,” a Nigerian in Libya who did not want to be mentioned narrated.

The Point reliably gathered that the Libyan government is set to repatriate no fewer than 400 Nigerians in a bid to reduce the number of migrants in the country.

The government, it was learned, has announced a free flight for citizens of other countries who are willing to return to their nations.

Another Nigerian in the country who simply identified himself as Ola, said, “Yes, Libya is tired of migrants and they are not hiding it. That is why they have announced the free flight for the repatriation of both legal and illegal migrants.”

“The information we are hearing is that it will be tougher here for migrants after this repatriation exercise. Already, many migrants are being tortured and killed and no one is saying anything. I am considering joining the free flight because the political crisis in Libya is not even helping matters.”

A video sighted by The Point showed some migrants who were attempting to enter Libya being neutralised at one of the country’s borders.

It was gathered that the attacks and killings were attempts to restrict movements of migrants into Libya while some non-state actors cash out on the devastating development.

According to a non-governmental organisation, NGO Refugees in Libya, some militias run some secret and unofficial prisons different from those run by Libya’s Directorate for Combating Illegal Migration (DCIM), a department of the interior ministry.

Spokesperson and co-founder of Refugees in Libya, David Yambio, on his X handle, had posted videos of unbearable conditions of the secret prisons where Nigerians and other migrants are kept and tortured by the militias.

He called on the Libyan government and the European Commission to put an end to the abuse.

Amid the reported human rights abuse, torture and dehumanisation of Nigerians and other migrants, United Nations disclosed that it discovered a fresh mass grave in the desert along the Libyan-Tunisian.

It expressed worry that the number of people dying across the vast expanse of the Sahara Desert is now believed to eclipse the rate of migrant deaths at sea. This is sequel to discovery of the bodies of at least 65 migrants at another site this year in the region in March.

According to the UN, the Sahara Desert is now more deadly for migrants than the Mediterranean crossing.

UN human rights Chief Volker Türk, reportedly condemned the ongoing abuse of and violations against migrants and refugees in Libya, urging the authorities “to respond swiftly to our inquiries, and to investigate these crimes fully.”

“The loved ones of those who died have every right to know the truth and the responsibility to investigate these crimes falls squarely with the Libyan authorities,” Türk repeatedly told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva,” he said.

The senior UN official also stressed abuses against migrants and refugees in Libya had been documented for a long time and were being “perpetrated at scale, with impunity.”

In particular, he highlighted crimes against people such as human trafficking, torture, forced labour, extortion, starvation, detention and mass expulsions, which the UN noted are being committed by both state and non-state actors in Libya.

Turk made these known in a report submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council last Tuesday.

The high commissioner’s report covers the human rights situation in Libya in the 12 months since April 2023. The report outlines “some disturbing developments,” among them an escalation in arbitrary arrests and detentions, enforced disappearances and detention-related violations.

His report documents a litany of horrors to which these vulnerable, desperate people are subjected, including “trafficking, torture, forced labour, extortion, starvation in intolerable conditions of detention,” as well as mass expulsions and the sale of human beings, including children.

“And in March this year, a mass grave was discovered in southwestern Libya, containing at least 65 bodies presumed to be migrants,” Türk said.

The high commissioner said, “As if this were not horrific enough, we are following up on reports of another mass grave recently discovered in the desert area at the Libyan-Tunisian border.”

Calling for investigations into these crimes, Türk said that, “The responsibility for investigating these crimes falls squarely with the Libyan authorities. Reparations must be made, justice served and nothing like this must ever happen again.”

He urged Libya to restore the rule of law, including accountability for human rights violations, and to protect the peoples’ right to freedom of assembly and association.

“Most male Libyans treat our ladies like animals. They sexually abuse them in public and use them for all manner of dirty works. No one dares to complain because almost everyone in Libya goes about with a gun and other dangerous weapons. Because Libya is an Islamic state, their men are not allowed to publicly have a relationship with their girls before marriage. So, this is making our girls become a dangerous species as these Libyan men satisfy their sexual urges forcefully with Nigerian ladies and other migrants.”

“The stifling of civil society organizations, political activists, journalists and many others is fostering a climate of fear. It is also undermining the very foundations necessary for Libya’s democratic transition, emboldening the spoilers, and enabling security actors to perpetrate human rights violations with impunity,” he said.

NIDCOM keeps mum

When contacted by The Point, the Chairman/CEO of Nigeria Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, didn’t answer a phone call put across to her.

She did not also respond to text messages sent to her by our correspondent on Sunday.

The Anti-Illegal Immigration Agency deported 163 illegal migrants via Mitiga International Airport in Tripoli on February 1, 2024.

All deportees were of Nigerian nationality. Mohamed Breida, the Head of Security Affairs at the Agency, reported that among the group were 107 women, five children, and 51 men.

Breida added that the agency planned to deport an additional 160 migrants in the coming days via Benina International Airport.

More than 320 Nigerians stranded in Libya were rescued in January this year with the International Organisation for Migration coordinating moves to help them return to Nigeria.

War-torn Libya has become a key departure point on North Africa’s Mediterranean coast for migrants, mainly from other parts of Africa, risking dangerous sea voyages in hopes of reaching Europe.

The AFP reported that Libya’s rival administrations last year agreed on a Tripoli-based anti-immigration body tasked with coordinating deportations of foreigners who are in the country illegally.

“We carried out on Tuesday the expulsion of 163 irregular migrants of Nigerian nationality from the Mitiga airport, including 107 women, 51 men and five children,” Libya migration agency’s head of security, Mohamad Baredaa, told AFP.

According to the IOM, there are more than 700,000 migrants in Libya.

As foreign countries like the United Kingdom tighten their immigration policies, many Nigerians are still racing to leave the country following the wave of “Japa” and as economic conditions continue to worsen amid naira devaluation.