231 trafficked Nigerian youths return from Ghana
No fewer than 231 Nigerian boys and girls who were trafficked to Ghana have safely returned home, through a coordinated rescue and repatriation effort led by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission.
Disclosing this in a statement on X.com Saturday, NiDCOM noted that the operation was supported by Wema Bank of Nigeria, the Office of the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, and the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana.
The commission disclosed that the returnees, ranging in age from 15 to 38 years, had been trafficked and held in deplorable conditions, with many forced into cybercrime and subjected to confinement and abuse.
The statement partly read, “The intervention follows months of engagement initiated by the Federal Government through the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission along with Chief Callistus Elozieuwa, BOT Chairman (Rescue live Foundation International/NIDO Ghana), culminating in an agreement with Ghanaian authorities for their release.
“Most of the victims were exploited for cybercrime and endured confinement and abuse before their rescue.
“The boys and girls are ranging from 15 to 38 years from Edo (76 indigenes), Anambra (6 indigenes), Delta (17 indigenes), Bayelsa (13 indigenes), Imo (19 indigenes), Enugu (12 indigenes), Ebonyi (8 indigenes), Cross River (7 indigenes), Abia (9 indigenes), Niger (4 indigenes), Akwa Ibom (3 indigenes), Kogi (6 indigenes) Ondo (1 indigene), Osun (1 indigene) etc.”
Upon arrival in Nigeria, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons reportedly profiled the returnees and dispatched them to their respective state governments for rehabilitation, reintegration, and empowerment.
In the statement, NiDCOM praised the Economic and Organised Crime Office in Ghana for effectively handling this case and taking care of the Nigerian citizens while in their custody.
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PUNCH reported on Thursday that the repatriation followed the recent rescue of 219 Nigerian victims by Ghanaian authorities, who uncovered a human trafficking ring operating out of a residential estate in Accra.
The victims, mostly young men, were found confined in about 25 rooms and forced into cybercrime operations under harsh conditions as some bore visible injuries, with one reportedly suffering broken legs for failing to remit illicit earnings, highlighting the severity of the abuse they endured.
During a visit to Ghana’s EOCO, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, reportedly expressed gratitude for the rescue and warned Nigerian youths against falling for false job offers abroad, which she said are often fronts for human trafficking schemes.
