The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) says it has rescued another group of 13 trafficking children from Ghana.
According to a statement issued on Friday by NIDCOM spokesperson Abdur-Rahman Balogun, this raises the total number of girls repatriated to the country in the last five months to 163.
According to Balogun, the girls were lured to Ghana with false promises of employment before being coerced into exploitative situations and bound by an oath of secrecy.
He stated the girls are between the ages of 19 and 30, and come from Ebonyi, Benue, Kaduna, and Rivers states.
Balogun stated that the rescue operation was the product of the combined and coordinated efforts of Ghana’s anti-human trafficking police, the Rescue Live Foundation International, and NIDO Ghana.
The girls were turned over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for rehabilitation and reintegration
Speaking on the current initiatives, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, head of NIDCOM, reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to protecting Nigerians in the diaspora.
Akinboye Akinsola, a NiDCOM representative who accompanied the females back to Nigeria, stated that the ladies surrendered freely after learning of the prior operation in Kpone Katamanso and Tema.
Valentine Okike Uzo, senior special assistant to the governor of Ebonyi state, stated that measures are on to ensure proper rehabilitation for victims in the state.