The Senate on Wednesday urged the Federal Government to summon the Libyan Ambassador to Nigeria over the slavery auctions of Nigerians in the North African country.
The call followed a motion on “Urgent need to Protect Nigerian Citizens from the Libya Slavery Auctions,” sponsored by Senator Baba Garbai.
He called for repatriation and rehabilitation of Nigerians caught up in the despicable treatment and human right abuses.
“These are our people who are just trying to flee from poverty and deprivation,” he said.
Garbai said the slave trade was not just a humiliation of Nigerians and Africans, but also to human civilisation and the fundamental principles of human rights under the United Nations Charter.
He said: “Not long ago, about 4,000 Nigerians were intercepted when they were about to enter the Mediterranean Sea and deported from Libya.
“The Libyan immigration authority informed the CNN that of an estimated 25,000, 4,000 are from Nigeria and are being held at various detention centres in the country.”
Garbai expressed worry that the Libyan government did not seem to have the means or commitment to crack down on the perpetrators of slave auction.
He noted that the smuggling networks were killing, torturing, extorting and detaining migrants at will.
The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, described the situation as “deplorable.”
NAN
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