The Nigerian Senate has urged the Federal Government to commence urgent diplomatic and humanitarian efforts to repatriate Nigerian women and their children currently languishing in Libyan prisons.
The resolution followed a motion sponsored by Senator Bassey (Cross River South) on the urgent need to protect Nigerians from trafficking, slavery, and human rights abuses in Libya.
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (Kogi Central) moved an additional prayer calling on the Nigerian Immigration Service and the Nigeria Correctional Service to liaise with their Libyan counterparts to facilitate the repatriation of Nigerian female inmates and their children born in detention. The prayer was seconded by the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, and adopted.
She said, “Many of these women were victims of human trafficking who escaped forced prostitution and captivity, only to end up incarcerated. While in detention, several of them suffered sexual assault by prison officials, resulting in pregnancies. Their children, born in prison, must not be condemned to lives of neglect for circumstances beyond their control.”
Senator Bassey, while presenting the motion, expressed concern that irregular migration through Libya had become a notorious route exposing thousands of Nigerians to grave dangers, including trafficking, slavery, ransom extortion, and other human rights violations.
He cited recent reports indicating that nearly 1,000 Nigerians were repatriated from Libya in the first quarter of 2025, with survivors narrating harrowing experiences of torture, sexual abuse, and exploitation. “A young woman, Mercy Olugbenga, recently revealed that she sold her family’s property to travel to Libya, only to be held captive for over a year, during which her blood was repeatedly drained against her will,” he recounted, describing it as “a chilling reminder of modern-day slavery.”
The Senate further referenced findings by Amnesty International and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which documented recurring reports of arbitrary detention, rape, forced labour, and killings of African migrants in Libyan detention centres run by both state and non-state actors.
Following extensive deliberations, the Senate resolved to urge the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, and NAPTIP, to establish a comprehensive reintegration and protection programme for Nigerian returnees from Libya, including psychosocial support, vocational training, and enterprise start-up assistance. It also called for intensified diplomatic engagement with Libyan authorities and collective regional and international action through the African Union (AU), ECOWAS, and the United Nations to secure the safety of Nigerians in Libyan detention camps and ensure accountability for human rights abuses.
The Senate mandated the Committees on Diaspora, Judiciary, Human Rights, and Foreign Affairs to investigate the activities of traffickers and unlicensed travel agents facilitating irregular migration, with a view to strengthening deterrent laws and enforcement.
Coming on an additional amendment, Senator Ali Ndume asked that NAPTIP should be actively involved in repatriation and rehabilitation and work jointly with the Senate committees to probe trafficking networks. The amendment was seconded and adopted.
Senator Adams Oshiomhole, through an additional prayer, asked that the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and other relevant agencies intensify public sensitisation on the dangers of irregular migration to conflict-prone or unstable countries. The prayer was seconded by Senator Ned Nwoko and adopted.
Senator Anthony Ani (Ebonyi South) supported the motion, describing the plight of Nigerian migrants in Libya as “a recurring stain on our national conscience.” Senator Oshiomhole stressed the need for preventive education, noting that “after the collapse of Gaddafi, Libya became lawless; Nigerians must understand that despite our challenges, this country is far better than what awaits them there.”
Senator Victor Umeh (Anambra Central) decried Africa’s silence on abuses of fellow Africans: “We are members of the African Union, yet Africans are treating fellow Africans worse than animals. The AU must act—no country should get away with such cruelty.”
In his closing remarks, Senate President Godswill Akpabio commended Senator Bassey for raising the motion, directing the Committee on Legislative Compliance to monitor implementation of the adopted resolutions.
“To Nigerian youths,” Akpabio said, “remember—home is home. Many who leave in search of greener pastures find only suffering abroad. May God guide and protect Nigerians everywhere.”
