Nigeria's government is intensifying the repatriation of thousands of its citizens trapped in Libya. Many are being held in migrant detention centers after failing to make the journey across the Mediterranean to Europe. The exercise began last weekend, and so far more than a-thousand migrants have been flown back home. CGTN's Kelechi Emekalam has more.

Foreign minister Geofrey Onyeama recently led a government delegation to Tripoli to see for themselves the plight of Nigerian migrants trapped in Libya. They were also there to strike a bilateral understanding on immediate repatriation exercise. The actual number of Nigerian Migrants in Libya is difficult to tell but by some estimates-over 5000 are feared to be trapped in there. Most of them young boys and girls who had embarked on a journey for a better life in Europe but those journeys have now been cut short. Thousands have ended up being sold into slavery and there are accounts others killed in a country so thinly governed. Now Nigeria's government wants all of them brought back home.

GEOFFREY ONYEAMA FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER, NIGERIA "The central government that's recognized by United Nations and African Union doesn't have full control of the territory of Libya and a lot of these immigrants are in those areas controlled by rebels and other forces. So the political engagement is extremely important and diplomatic engagement, because the criminal element involved in this trafficking and this migration question means that, a lot of our children are nothing more than property, commodities being monetized"

Nigeria tops the list of most enticed citizens by human traffickers. By last year, at least 12,000 of them made it to Europe through Libya. In contrast almost a similar number remain trapped in Libya living a life far from their dreams. Those who are being repatriated talk of horrific experiences and the government hopes their experiences would change that mind and sets back home.

GEOFFREY ONYEAMA FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER, NIGERIA "The rehabilitation phase is really important and that's key, we are hoping that we can use them as advocates, so that other Nigerian youth will not be tempted. We know that they're criminal element criminal gangs involved in this, so our agencies and others are going to have to redouble the effort, to target and dismantle all these criminal networks."

Libya has been in the spotlight after reports of slave auction emerged. Burkina Faso severed diplomatic ties while others like Nigeria, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Niger have all embarked on repatriation of their nationals from there. KE, CGTN, A, N.