At least 13,917 Nigerians from across Africa and Europe voluntarily returned to the country between 2020 and 2022.
This is according to data obtained from the International Organisation for Immigration under its Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration program for the years under review.
The reports captured the entire AVRR of the migrants, mostly fleeing harsh conditions in their destination or transit countries.
The report noted that “the main source of stress for returnees who find themselves in a state of regret and limbo between what they planned to achieve and what they have at hand upon return is often the uncertainty about their future, source of income, and place within the community.”
Within that period, the number of Nigerians who voluntarily returned home rose by 291 percent, from 1,408 in 2020 to 5,783 by December 2022.
However, that number pales compared to the over 10,000 Nigerians who have died since 2017 while illegally migrating to Europe through the Mediterranean Sea and the deserts.
The breakdown shows 1,408 Nigerians returned home in 2020. The figure was 6,656 in 2021 and 5,783 in 2022.
Available data for 2022 revealed that 3,438 of the returnees were males and 2,345 were females.
The data also showed that most returnees were fleeing the states of Libya and the Niger Republic.
In the last two decades, Libya has served as a destination and transit point for millions of Nigerians embarking on the desperate journey to Europe through the Mediterranean Sea.
Since the ousting of its former leader, Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and the ensuing instability, there have been rising cases of alleged slave trade and extortion, which have reportedly become an income source for some Libyan communities.
Data from the IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix for October 2022 showed the top five nationalities of migrants in Libya are Nigerians, Nigeriens, Egyptians, Sudanese, and Chadians.
The spokesperson for the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, Zakaria Dauda, said “the agency had revved up its awareness campaign to deter more desperate journeys.”
On her part, the Executive Director of the Women Trafficking and Child Labour Eradication Foundation, Imaobong Ladipo-Sanusi, said “many Nigerians fleeing the country irregularly were doing so due to climate change and its ancillary effects.”
