Neville Gafa is claiming to have orchestrated a government-backed pushback of asylum seekers back to Libya over Easter Weekend.

Gafa told Newsbook that during a magisterial inquiry into the death of five asylum seekers, he said he was involved in the return of 51 asylum seekers to Libya.

He says that he was working on direct instructions of the Office of the Prime Minister, in coordination with the Libyan Homes Affairs Ministry and the Libyan Coast Guard. He explained that he was mostly involved in ensuring asylum seekers do not enter Maltese territorial waters.

Gafa also insisted that he has been involved in these kinds of operations over the last three years. However, this has been denied by Prime Minister Robert Abela in parliament. It seems one of them is lying.

The vessel, along with three others, were denied entry in Malta, Spain, and Italy after their countries declared the ports unsafe due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Libya has also closed its ports due to the ongoing civil war.

Gafa was a controversial figure in former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s administration but resigned from his role as soon as Robert Abela was appointed, despite having attended his inauguration. There are still many questions over his role in the medical visa scandal.

Meanwhile, he has also faced serious questions over his extremely close relationship with the Prime Minister’s former Chief of Staff Keith Schembri, who remains under investigation for the murder.