Jimisayo Opanuga
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) has disclosed that ten Nigerian teenage girls who were allegedly trafficked to Ghana for prostitution have safely returned to Nigeria.
The girls, all of whom were under the age of 18, were allegedly lured from Nigeria to Ghana. In a viral video that showed the girls after they were rescued, a NIDCOM official was heard saying, “We just rescued all these ones from one single person, innocent Nigerian children that were brought here to do what they wouldn’t have wished do to.
“They are helpless. They picked them and send them to do prostitution and they would be collecting money from these innocent children.”
NIDCOM’s Chairman, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, however, confirmed in a post on her X handle that the girls, who are from Imo State, were rescued and arrived in Lagos at approximately 9:55 pm on Friday.
Dabiri-Erewa said the girls were accompanied by representatives of the Imo State government and have been handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and their respective states for rehabilitation and counseling.
She also reported that the alleged trafficker, a man who lured the girls from Nigeria under the pretense has been arrested and charged in Ghana.
Dabiri-Erewa noted the need for a permanent solution to eradicate human trafficking in the country, urged parents to always question the whereabouts of their children when taken away by relatives or friends and encouraged collective efforts to ensure traffickers are identified and arrested.
