A group of 33 men and 11 women from Nigeria have been deported after their appeals for asylum were refused.

The Nigerians were flown back to Nigeria, which is considered a safe country, on a chartered Air Malta plane yesterday afternoon, the Home Affairs Ministry said.

They had arrived in Malta last year and were kept in detention centres. Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici congratulated the police for the successful repatriation.

He said the government offered protection to those who deserved it and worked to relocate migrants to other countries for a better future.

However, those who did not qualify for protection had to be repatriated, he added.

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