290 Nigerians Died On Mediterranean Sea In Four Months

Over 290 persons have reportedly died while trying to cross the Mediterranean sea to Europe between January and April this year,Hon. Eddy Duru, President/founder, Re-educating Africans on the Risks and Dangers of Unplanned Journeys Abroad, (RARDUJA),

He spoke at a stakeholders conference held in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

He said:”According to the United Nations International Organization Migration (IOM) section, says, we lost over 290 persons this year alone  while trying to cross the Mediterranean sea to Europe.

“Less than two weeks now, we lost 41 migrants who were also trying to cross through the desert.

“This is off the Tunisia Coast. They were all making their way to Europe and their boat sank and in the process they were all perished”, he said.

He said no fewer than 38 persons have also been deported from Europe to Africa despite the unprecedented deaths that have been recorded within the shortest time,

“Like I did say, in January this year, 38 persons were deported from Overseas to Nigeria and of the 38, 24 of them were from Germany, 13 from Australia and one was from Hungary”, he added.

Duru,who said he was not against anyone traveling abroad, noted that such move should be planned to avoid the unnecessary  hazards associated with  unplanned journeys to European countries.