Three Nigerian teenage girls who were trafficked to Ghana have been rescued and safely brought back to Nigeria, according to the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM).
In a statement released on Friday by Abdur-Rahman Balogun, NiDCOM’s Director of Media, Public Relations and Protocols, the victims—identified as Divine, Favour, and Bright, aged 17 to 19—were lured by their aunts with false promises of job opportunities but were later forced into prostitution.
The girls were officially received at NiDCOM’s Lagos office on Thursday before being handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for profiling and rehabilitation. Speaking at the reception, NiDCOM Chairperson/CEO Abike Dabiri-Erewa condemned the continued silence around human trafficking and urged more proactive measures to expose those responsible.
“Human trafficking will persist unless we begin to publicly identify and shame the perpetrators,” she said. She extended appreciation to Callistus Elozieuwa, Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) Ghana, for his role in coordinating with Ghanaian security forces to secure the girls’ release. She also acknowledged the Nigerian Embassy in Ghana for its support and expressed gratitude to First Lady Oluremi Tinubu for facilitating the girls’ repatriation.
NiDCOM revealed that over 169 Nigerians have been brought back from Ghana in recent months, highlighting the ongoing risk posed by trafficking networks. The girls, originally from Bayelsa and Ebonyi States, are now under the care of NAPTIP, where they will undergo rehabilitation and receive further support.
Source : https://businessday.ng/
