More than 200 Nigerian migrants that were stranded in Libya have safely returned to their country, Nigerian officials said.
The 242 migrants landed at Lagos airport on a Libyan airline flight on Tuesday.
CNN reports that among the migrants were women carrying children, and at least one man in a wheelchair.
The Nigerian authorities said they colladborated with the International Organization of Migration (IOM) to ensure the migrants returned home.
According to CNN, some of the 242 men and women who returned had been in Libyan detention camps, while some of them willingly approached the Nigerian embassy in Libya to return home because of the hardships they were facing in the North African country.
The has been a wordwide outcry since last week following a broadcast by CNN that showed African migrants being auctioned as slaves to work in agricultural farms.
Libya has been a preferred departure point for migrants seeking to reach Europe through the Mediterranean.
The political situation in the country has created a haven for people smugglers, who often charge the migrants a fee to help them cross the sea.
An EU-Africa Business Forum being held in Cote d’Ivoire’s capital, Abidjan, has made the migrant crisis a key focus, with world leaders expected to find a lasting solution to end the exodus.
According to IOM, more than 3,000 migrants have drowned while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.
