The deportees arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMlA), Lagos at about 8.40 p.m.

The deportees, who are all male, were brought back with a chartered Hifly aircraft with registration number CS-TQW, amidst tight security.

Alhaji Muhammad Sani Sidi, the Director-General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), confirmed the development.

He said 33 of the deportees were from Italy, while the other seven and another three were deported from Germany and Italy, respectively.


Sidi, represented by Dr Onimode Bandele, the Deputy Director, Search and Rescue, NEMA, said NEMA and other sister agencies were at the airport to receive the deportees.

“They were deported for committing various offences in their host countries and as you can see, our agencies are here to do the needful.

“As a responsible government, we cannot just leave our citizens to enter the country without giving them a good welcome and assisting them to get back to their families,” he said.

Sidi advised Nigerians to stay in the country and develop it together.

He said some stipends would be given to the deportees to facilitate their transportation to their various destinations.

Other agencies whose officials were at the airport to receive the deportees included the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, the Nigerian Police Force and the Nigeria Immigration Service.