By: Mercy Peter
A harrowing video has surfaced online, capturing the voices and suffering of stranded Nigerians held in a deportation camp in Libya.
The footage, reportedly recorded on August 5, 2025, shows scores of visibly malnourished men, women, and children languishing in dire conditions in a remote facility known as Brakchat, located about 60 kilometres from the city of Sabha.
In the emotional appeal, one of the detainees narrates the ongoing humanitarian crisis, revealing that over 400 Nigerians, including skilled workers and university graduates, remain confined in the overcrowded camp, down from the 700 who were initially detained there more than seven months ago.
The speaker describes a daily struggle for survival, marked by deaths, untreated injuries, and gross neglect.
He said “Children, teenagers, women we’re all dying slowly here,” the narrator says, panning the camera across rows of weak, injured individuals lying on the bare floor.
“Even as of yesterday, we lost a child and a teenager due to maltreatment and lack of medical care. Some of us are bandaged, many can’t even move their limbs.”
The group alleges that their rights have been systematically violated, citing the confiscation of international passports, mobile phones, and personal belongings upon arrival.
They claim to have been denied access to medication, legal aid, or any meaningful humanitarian support, despite the presence of the United Nations in the broader deportation process.
“There’s no UN presence here,” the speaker laments. “No monitoring, no medical care. Even when officials come, they are not allowed to see the true conditions. This is a silent graveyard for Nigerians.”
According to the video, many of the detainees had traveled to Libya in search of work opportunities and were not involved in any criminal activity.
However, they now find themselves trapped in a facility they describe as a “deportation camp,” facing abuse, starvation, and neglect with no clear timeline or procedure for return to Nigeria.
The detainees issued a passionate plea to the Nigerian government, civil society organisations, and the international community for urgent intervention.
“This is a wake-up call. Please, come and get us out of here. We did not come here to steal or kill. We came to work. But we are being treated like criminals. We don’t want to die in silence.”
However, the disturbing footage has begun to circulate widely on social media, prompting public outrage and renewed calls for stronger protection of Nigerian citizens abroad.
