Reps want FG to halt illegal migration to Europe

The House of Representatives, on Thursday called on the executive arm of government to develop a plan that would checkmate the illegal movement of Nigerians to European countries.

The house decision followed a motion by Rep. Patrick Asadu (PDP-Enugu), which was unanimously adopted by members through a voice vote.

Asadu prayed the government to mobilise both citizenry and other African leaders in both transit and receiving countries in the fight against illegal immigration while rehabilitating and re-settling victims at all stages.

The house also urged Nigerian youths “to be wary of sweet talking but unscrupulous human traffickers promising them non-existent jobs beyond our shores.”

The house further urged parents, community and Church leaders to “champion massive enlightenment campaigns against this modern slavery.”

Similarly, the house advised the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Federal Ministries of Youth Development, Women Affairs, Information and Culture, Interior and Foreign Affairs to rise up to the challenges posed by the development.

The house said further that the 8th National Assembly should champion a new parliamentary initiative to abolish what it called modern slavery by mobilizing resources within Nigeria and beyond against the menace.

Moving the motion, the Asadu cited the report of the United Nations Commission for Human Rights (UNCHR) which said illegal crossings from Libya to Italy increased by 38 per cent in 2015 and moved to 43 per cent in 2016.

It noted that majority of those migrants arriving in Italy in the recent time were from the Sub-Saharan Africa, mainly Nigerians, Gambians and Senegalese, saying the trend needs to be curtailed.

The house mandated the its Committee on Human Rights to conduct an oversight of the action plan of the Federal Government to curtail the incidents of illegal migration to Europe.

The committee was also mandated to report back to the house within 12 weeks for further legislative action.