Fear has spread among Nigerians living in Libya after warnings began circulating through social media and migrant communities calling on Africans, particularly Nigerians, to leave the country before October 1.
Several Nigerians in different parts of Libya told SaharaReporters on Wednesday that tensions had risen sharply in recent days. Some landlords had already asked them to vacate their apartments. Libyan colleagues and employers had advised them not to report for work amid concerns about possible attacks and arrests.
One Nigerian worker said his Libyan colleagues told him not to come to work the next day. “My Libyan colleagues told me not to come to work tomorrow (Thursday). They told me that because of what is happening, I should stay where I am and not come out. They said I should be very careful,” he said.
Another resident said his landlord had instructed tenants to start looking for alternative housing immediately rather than wait until October 1. A Nigerian woman said the warnings targeted Africans in general, though Nigerians were frequently singled out. She and others linked the hostility to claims that migrants were taking jobs that should go to Libyans and that many Nigerians lacked proper papers.
Reports of police arrests of African migrants have intensified the anxiety. One Nigerian said arrests of Africans had already begun and that undocumented migrants were especially vulnerable. Even those with documents remained uneasy, he added, because the situation was unclear and messages varied daily.
A widely shared social media message, attributed in circulation to the International Organization for Migration, urged migrants and refugees without valid documents, employment contracts or official permits to leave Libya and seek safety in neighbouring countries. It called on them to take the situation seriously rather than wait for conditions to worsen.
Refugees in Libya, a migrant-led group monitoring the situation, cautioned that no publicly verifiable Libyan government decree had established October 1 as a nationwide legal deadline for foreigners to leave. The absence of an official order has not reduced concern among Nigerians, who said warnings from landlords, colleagues and community members were enough to make them fear for their safety.
Some Nigerians who contacted their embassy said they were told diplomatic officials had limited options, particularly for those without valid immigration documents. Residents said they were relying mainly on informal networks for information, asking one another about arrests in their areas and whether it was safe to leave home.
With the date approaching, many said they planned to stay indoors. Others were already considering leaving their neighbourhoods. One Nigerian summed up the mood: “We don’t know what tomorrow will bring. We are just hearing different things from different people. The only thing we know is that people are afraid.”
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