A fresh batch of 218 Nigerians, have returned from the volatile North African country of Libya where they had been stranded en route Europe.

The returnees include seven pregnant women and 211 others.

The returnees arrived at the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos about 3.44am aboard a chartered Libyan Airlines Airbus A330-200 aircraft with registration number 5A-LAU.

The fresh returnees are; 46 adult females, five female infants, 161 adult males, two male children and four male infants.

The returnees were brought with the assistance of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the European Union (EU).

The South West Zonal Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Alhaji Yakubu Suleiman, said a total of 8,129 Nigerians had returned so far under the EU and IOM Assisted Voluntary Returnees Programme.

Suleiman advised the returnees to be champions of change in sensitizing the youths against the urge of seeking greener pastures through irregular migration due to unforeseen dangers.

He assured them that the Federal Government was pursuing socio-economic programmes aimed at giving employable opportunities to the youths.