6th April, 2011
Hundreds of Nigerians who recently returned from war-torn Libya this morning stormed the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos State, southwest Nigeria, to demand that their luggage be delivered to them.
The returnees, numbering about 500, carried placards, sang war songs in Arabic and called on the Nigerian government to in addition pay them the $200 the United Nations promised will be given to them once they get to Nigeria.
The leader of the group, simply known as Oshiomhole, told journalists during the protest that when they were leaving Tunisia, after escaping from Libya, their luggage were already tagged at the Tunis Airport, ready to be airlifted, adding that most of them never made it to Nigeria.
He said that there were about 980 Nigerians who left Libya last month without their luggage. Most of them, he said, are from Edo and Delta States.
“To our surprise, we have been expecting our luggage for about a month. Some of us received theirs, but the majority are still expecting theirs,†he said.
The Lagos Airport Commandant, Mr. Garba, pleaded with the protesters to call off their action and return when their luggage arrive.
He said, a cargo plane was about leaving Nigeria for Tunisia. At the time of filing this report, the protesters had not left the airport.
—Simon Ateba