The Senate has expressed deep concern over persistent human rights violations suffered by Nigerian migrants in Libya, calling on the Federal Government to step up the repatriation and reintegration of citizens stranded in the North African country.
At its plenary on Tuesday, the Upper Chamber resolved to take urgent legislative and diplomatic actions to combat human trafficking, modern-day slavery, and exploitation. It also called for a nationwide sensitisation campaign to discourage irregular migration to conflict zones.
The resolutions followed the adoption of a motion titled “Urgent Need to Protect Nigerians from Trafficking, Slavery, and Human Rights Abuses in Libya,” sponsored by Senator Aniekan Bassey (APC, Akwa Ibom North-East).
Senator Bassey, in his presentation, decried the worsening plight of Nigerians trapped in Libyan detention centres. He revealed that over 1,000 Nigerians were repatriated from Libya in the first quarter of 2025 alone. Many of them, he said, were victims of torture, forced detention, sexual abuse, organ harvesting, and other inhumane practices.
He cited the case of Mercy Olugbenga, a young woman who sold her family property and abandoned her university education in search of a better life abroad. Instead, she was captured and held in Libya for over a year, during which her blood was repeatedly extracted against her will.
Key Senate Resolutions
- Joint Investigation:
The Senate mandated the Committees on Diaspora Affairs, Judiciary, Human Rights, and Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with NAPTIP, to investigate the activities of trafficking networks and unlicensed travel agents, and assess the effectiveness of Nigeria’s border and immigration controls. - Reintegration Programme:
It urged the Federal Government, through NAPTIP, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, and relevant state governments, to establish a comprehensive reintegration plan for returnees. This should include psychosocial support, vocational training, and enterprise start-up grants to help them rebuild their lives. - Diplomatic Efforts:
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was tasked with intensifying diplomatic engagement with Libyan authorities, and mobilising the African Union (AU), ECOWAS, and the United Nations to secure the safety of Nigerians still held in Libya and ensure perpetrators of human rights abuses are held accountable. - Public Awareness:
The National Orientation Agency (NOA) was directed to launch a nationwide sensitisation campaign to educate citizens—particularly young people—on the dangers of irregular migration and the harsh realities in countries like Libya.
Seconding the motion, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) lamented that the issue had become a recurring decimal in Nigeria’s national life.
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP, Kogi Central) proposed that Nigerian Immigration and Prison Services collaborate with their Libyan counterparts to facilitate the repatriation of Nigerian women who gave birth while in detention. She noted that many of these women had been sexually abused and were raising their children in inhumane conditions.
However, this proposal sparked a brief debate over potential conflicts with constitutional rights to freedom of movement, leading to the amendment being stepped down.
