Worried by the illegal migration of Nigerians, the present administration has declared that all Nigerians stranded in Libya and other parts of the world will be brought home and rehabilitated.

The administration also vowed to reduce the number of Nigerians heading for Europe illegally through the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea by providing basic social amenities such as education, healthcare, and food security at home.

President Muhammadu Buhari said this during an interactive session with members of the Nigerian Community in Cote D’ Ivoire, on the margins of the fifth African Union-European Union Summit, saying all necessary steps would be taken to stem the tide of illegal migration by Nigerians.

Buhari, also reacting to the report of the death of twenty-six Nigerians in Mediterranean sea, said it was difficult to know the origin of the people who died, while attempting the perilous journey across the Mediterranean, because of lack of documentation.

“For people to cross the Sahara desert and Mediterranean through shanty boats… we will try and keep them at home. But anybody who died in the desert and Mediterranean without documents; to prove that he is a Nigerian, there is absolutely nothing we can do,” he said.

Reacting to a viral video on the sale of Africans in Libya, President Buhari said it is appalling that “some Nigerians (in the footage) were being sold like goats for few dollars in Libya.’

“After 43 years of Gadhafi, why are they recruiting so many people from the Sahel including Nigerians? All they learned was how to shoot and kill. They didn’t learn to be electricians, plumbers or any other trade,’’ he said.

President Buhari speaking further to the Nigerians in the Diaspora said that there is ‘‘good news from home’’ in the area of security, economy, and anti-corruption.

“We are not doing too badly in trying to secure the country, improve the economy and deal with corruption. We are doing our best at all levels including security. It is absolute madness for people to blow others up in markets, churches, and mosques. No religion advocates violence. Justice is the basic thing all religions demand and you can’t go wrong if you do it,’’ he said.

On food security, the President said that his vision of repositioning Nigeria as a food-secure nation is on course as the country is on the verge of attaining food security.

He attributed the development to positive agricultural reform programmes and bumper harvest occasioned by good weather.

Meanwhile, the Senate has urged the Federal Government to summon Libyan Ambassador to Nigeria on slavery auctions of Nigerians in Libya.

The upper chamber also condemned in totality the current depravity and sheer animalism being exhibited by the Libyans selling fellow Africans as slaves.

This was sequel to a motion on “Urgent need to Protect Nigerian Citizens from the Libya Slavery Auctions“, sponsored by Baba Garbai of APC-Borno during plenary.

He called for repatriation and rehabilitation of Nigerian citizens caught up in the despicable treatment and human right abuses.

In his remarks, Senate President Bukola Saraki described the situation as deplorable, saying it was a slap on the face of all, if Nigerians could be treated in that manner.