Abuja - Nigerian officials are calling for more international cooperation in the fight against human trafficking, as the country continues to evacuate its citizens from Libya.
Earlier this month, the Nigerian government began the immediate removal of some 5,500 people from the North African country after reports of abuse, slavery and torture.
Large numbers of Nigerians were among thousands of migrants trapped in Libya in their attempt to escape war and economic hardship in their home countries and reach Europe.
Many have been exploited by human traffickers as they attempted to pass through war-torn Libya in a bid to reach Italy by sea. Muhammad Babandede, head of Nigeria's immigration service, said there needed to be a joint effort to tackle the problem.
"It's frustrating that we, as countries, are not working together, including Europe," he told Al Jazeera. "It takes more than returning, it takes more than publicity to do this. We need to work together at the source, transit and destination countries to deal with the criminal groups," added Babandede.
The evacuation process began after Nigerian officials on a fact-finding mission to Libya expressed shock at what they saw and heard from victims. "They talked about various abuse - systematic, endemic, and exploitation of all kinds," said Nigeria's Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama.
"There were obviously interests that wanted to keep as many of them there as possible because they were commodities." Despite their ordeal, however, many Nigerians said they planned to try to make the journey again. Osaretin Vincent was one of them, telling Al Jazeera that his destiny lies in Europe. "I have sold almost everything I have to embark on this journey but now I am going back home like a madman," he said.(FA).
