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Nigeria’s new migration policy will cut irregular travel and protect migrants’ rights- Fr Emeka

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Rev. Fr. Emeka Obiezu, the National Coordinator of the Civil Society Network on Migration and Development, says Nigeria’s updated National Migration Policy will “provide a holistic framework” that protects migrants’ rights, expands legal migration pathways and reduces the pressures driving young Nigerians into irregular travel.

Speaking an interview with ARISE News on Saturday, Obiezu said the new policy is built on six priority areas designed to make migration safer, rights-based and development-driven.

He said:“What the policy provides for us is a holistic approach to migration. It is not just about stopping people from moving irregularly — although that is key — but about exploring the wider dimensions that migration brings to national development.

It will protect migrants’ rights and initiate development-led actions that make people feel they have a choice to stay in the country, and if they have to move, they can move with dignity and honour.”

Obiezu explained that the first priority area of the policy seeks to facilitate and expand legal mobility while harnessing the benefits of migration for national development, including diaspora contributions.

He said:”The policy looked at six priority areas. The first is to enhance legal mobility and legal migration, and then harness the benefits migration brings to development, especially what the diaspora contributes.

It gives the actors implementing the policy a framework to engage in different development sectors, identify the critical groups targeted by these interventions and ensure they remain close to them. That is why we are looking at youth incentives and youth capacity, as well as regular migration pathways such as skills programmes.”

He added that the policy also covers the rights and safety of migrants inside Nigeria, including foreigners resident in the country.

Obiezu said the policy also provides procedures for the return and reintegration of Nigerians whose immigration status cannot be regularised abroad.

“The policy provides that if these people have to come back, they must be returned in dignity, admitted back into the country and helped to integrate in a sustainable manner,”he said.

Another key priority, he noted, is establishing reliable migration data to support evidence-based decision-making.

Responding to questions about implementation timelines, Obiezu said the revised document was already validated.

He said:“The process of reviewing the policy, which started last year, ended on 29 April when the technical working group validated the document. It has now been transmitted for consideration by the Federal Executive Council, and as soon as it is adopted, implementation will begin. All actors are ready.”

Addressing why Nigerians should avoid irregular routes, Obiezu stressed that migration is a fundamental right, but irregular travel comes with high personal risks.

He said:“To migrate is a human right of every person. If the conditions where you are become unfavourable, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights allows you to move.

But what many people don’t know is that most Nigerians who migrate actually use regular pathways. Only a very few use irregular routes. Irregular migration includes travelling through dangerous channels or overstaying or working outside your permitted status abroad.”

He warned that irregular status leaves migrants vulnerable.

“It exposes you to exploitation and discrimination. People can use your vulnerability to maximise profit, pay you less and deny you the protections that regular migration offers,”he said.

He added that the UN discourages the term “illegal migrants”.

“The United Nations in 1975 said such people should not be called illegal migrants, because that term criminalises them. They should be treated with dignity, and many countries now use dignified return systems when sending people back to their countries of origin.”

Reacting to viral debates about Nigerians publicising foreign citizenship, Obiezu said the reasons are personal and should not be framed as national shame.

He said:“These questions are personal. People are simply saying they have found a happy place to be. That is what life is about.

What we should be concerned about is what makes people feel they cannot thrive in the place they call home. Even those who get Canadian or Western citizenship have nostalgia for Nigeria. Their longing for home never ends.”

He said this is why the new policy emphasises creating opportunities at home.

“Every agency of government must make constructive efforts to ensure opportunities that enable people to thrive — security, jobs and basic amenities,”he said.

Obiezu explained that Nigeria has adopted a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, allowing civil society to work alongside government to promote safe migration.

He said:“Nigerian migration governance has done well by using a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach. All stakeholders — state and non-state — are enabled to participate effectively to ensure safe and regular migration.

NGOs like ours take awareness to the grassroots and advocate for implementation. The National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons provides the platform for us to do this nationally and regionally.”

He noted ongoing collaborations with partners such as the EU, IOM and the UN Migration Trust Fund.

On Nigerians who decide to return after living abroad, Obiezu said both engagement and reintegration structures exist.

He said:“The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission provides a strong framework for engaging the diaspora, including those who want to come back or invest from abroad.

For those in very deplorable situations who want to return, we have the voluntary return, readmission and integration process, which helps them return with dignity and reintegrate sustainably.”

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Ebola : la RDC confirme 10 000 cas, le NRC appelle à un renforcement urgent de la réponse

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Le Conseil norvégien pour les réfugiés (NRC) a appelé à un renforcement urgent des efforts humanitaires en République démocratique du Congo (RDC), après la confirmation de plus de 10 000 cas dans le cadre de l’épidémie en cours due au virus Bundibugyo.

L’épidémie a touché huit provinces du pays, exerçant une pression considérable sur des communautés déjà confrontées à une crise humanitaire prolongée. Elle est principalement concentrée dans l’est de la RDC, tandis que des signalements récents de cas au Kenya et au Nigeria suscitent des inquiétudes quant à une éventuelle propagation régionale.

Près de 5 000 décès auraient été confirmés en RDC seulement.

Cette épidémie survient dans un contexte de crise humanitaire persistante dans l’est de la RDC, où les violences, les déplacements forcés et l’accès limité aux services essentiels ont rendu de nombreuses communautés particulièrement vulnérables.

Le NRC, qui intervient dans le pays depuis plus de deux décennies, participe à la réponse à l’épidémie d’Ebola, notamment dans la province de l’Ituri, l’une des régions les plus touchées.

L’organisation appelle à une action durable et coordonnée afin de protéger les communautés, d’améliorer l’accès aux services essentiels et de répondre aux besoins des personnes affectées à la fois par l’épidémie et les déplacements de population.

« Lors de mes déplacements en Ituri, je constate à quel point la maladie frappe durement les communautés, et je suis frappée par l’ampleur des efforts supplémentaires nécessaires pour maîtriser cette épidémie », a déclaré Silvia Beccacece, responsable de l’équipe d’urgence du NRC.

« Depuis des années, les familles d’ici luttent contre les conséquences des violences extrêmes, des déplacements forcés et du manque de services essentiels. Ebola vient s’ajouter à ces difficultés, alors que beaucoup ont déjà épuisé leurs capacités à faire face à cette nouvelle épreuve.

« Il est clair que la réponse apportée est loin d’être proportionnelle à l’ampleur considérable de l’épidémie », a-t-elle ajouté.

Le NRC a souligné que la lutte contre Ebola nécessite une étroite coopération entre les autorités sanitaires, les organisations humanitaires, les groupes communautaires et les partenaires internationaux.

L’organisation a également appelé à mettre les communautés touchées au centre des interventions et à tenir compte des coutumes et traditions locales.

Elle a exhorté les bailleurs de fonds et les partenaires à accroître les financements et le soutien aux opérations humanitaires en RDC, en particulier dans les zones affectées par l’épidémie et les déplacements de population.

« La confirmation de 10 000 cas doit servir de signal d’alarme : la réponse actuelle ne parvient pas à prendre de l’avance sur l’épidémie et ne fournit pas aux communautés le soutien dont elles ont besoin pour maîtriser la transmission du virus », a déclaré Beccacece.

« Les signes avant-coureurs sont visibles de tous. Tout dépend désormais de la volonté des dirigeants d’en tenir compte et de prendre les mesures nécessaires », a-t-elle ajouté.

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Ebola:DRC confirms 10,000 cases, NRC seeks scale-up

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The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has called for an urgent expansion of humanitarian efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), following the confirmation of more than 10,000 cases in the ongoing Bundibugyo virus outbreak.

The outbreak has affected eight provinces in the country, placing enormous pressure on communities already struggling with a prolonged humanitarian crisis. The epidemic is concentrated in eastern DR Congo, while reports of recent cases in Kenya and Nigeria have raised concerns about a possible regional spread.

Nearly 5,000 deaths have reportedly been confirmed in DR Congo alone.

The outbreak comes amid a long-running humanitarian crisis in eastern DR Congo, where violence, forced displacement and limited access to essential services have left many communities vulnerable.

The NRC, which has operated in the country for more than two decades, is participating in the Ebola response, including in Ituri province, one of the areas most affected by the outbreak.

The organisation is urging sustained and coordinated action to protect communities, improve access to essential services and address the needs of people affected by both the outbreak and displacement.

“As I move around Ituri, I’m seeing just how hard the disease is hitting communities, and I am struck by how much more needs to be done to bring this outbreak under control,” said Silvia Beccacece, NRC’s emergency team leader.

“Families here have been struggling for years as a result of extreme violence, forced displacement, and the lack of essential services. Ebola comes on top of that, at a point where many have exhausted their ability to cope with the additional challenge it brings.

“The fact remains that this response is in no way proportionate to the vast scale of the outbreak,” she added.

The NRC stressed that combating Ebola requires close cooperation among health authorities, humanitarian organisations, community-based groups and international partners.

It also called for a response that places affected communities at the centre of interventions and takes local customs and traditions into account.

The organisation urged donors and partners to increase funding and support for humanitarian operations in DR Congo, particularly in areas affected by the outbreak and displacement.

“10,000 confirmed cases must be a wake-up call that this response is not getting ahead of the outbreak, and is not supporting communities with what they need to bring transmission under control,” Beccacece said.

“The warning signs are here for all to see: now it depends on whether leaders will take notice and take the required action,” she added.

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Libye : des centaines de migrants rapatriés, des renforts déployés à Tobrouk

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Le Département libyen de lutte contre la migration illégale (DCIM) a rapatrié ou transféré des centaines de migrants en vue de leur rapatriement depuis des centres de détention situés dans l’est du pays, tout en déployant des unités de renfort à Tobrouk afin de renforcer les opérations de lutte contre la migration irrégulière.

Ces informations ont été rapportées dans une série de publications sur X par Migrant Rescue Watch.

Le 15 octobre 2026, le DCIM a déployé des unités de renfort à Tobrouk pour soutenir sa branche locale dans la lutte contre la migration irrégulière dans la ville et les zones environnantes relevant de sa compétence.

Le même jour, l’agence a rapatrié sept migrants égyptiens détenus au centre de détention pour migrants de l’est de Tripoli, à Tajoura, via l’aéroport international de Mitiga, à Tripoli, selon Migrant Rescue Watch.

La veille, le 14 octobre, le DCIM de Tobrouk avait rapatrié ou transféré 209 migrants en vue de leur rapatriement. Les ressortissants égyptiens ont été renvoyés par le poste-frontière terrestre d’Emsaed, tandis que les autres migrants ont été transférés au centre de détention pour migrants de Quanafudah en vue de leur rapatriement.

Lors d’une opération distincte menée le 28 septembre, l’agence a transféré 297 migrants de différentes nationalités du centre de détention pour migrants de Tobrouk vers celui de Quanafudah, à Benghazi, en vue de leur rapatriement.

Le DCIM a également rapatrié ou transféré 250 migrants de différentes nationalités depuis le centre de détention pour migrants de Shahat le même jour, selon les publications.

Les rapports n’ont pas précisé les nationalités de l’ensemble des migrants concernés ni fourni davantage de détails sur leur situation et les modalités de leur retour.

Ces opérations interviennent dans un contexte de poursuite des mesures de contrôle migratoire dans l’est de la Libye, où les autorités continuent de procéder au transfert et au rapatriement de migrants détenus dans différents centres de rétention.

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