Three more girls trafficked to Ghana returned home Thursday as Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) put the numbers of those rescued from Ghana so far at about 200.
In a statement signed by Abdur-Rahman Balogun, NiDCOM’s Director of Media, Public Relations and Protocols Unit she noted that human trafficking will not stop if perpetrators and are not exposed and shamed.
The three girls trafficked to Ghana were at the NIDCOM, Lagos office on Thursday and thereafter handed over to NAPTIP.
She thanked the Chairman, NIDO Ghana Board of Trustees, Chief Callistus Elozieuwa who has been consistent in the war against trafficking by working with the Ghanaian security agencies to rescue them, the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana for effective consular support and Her Excellency the First Lady, Mrs Oluremi Tinubu (MON) for generously helping out with transportation.
She said while NAPTIP has been rescuing and also arresting traffickers, human trafficking is on the increase globally because people are shying away from naming and shaming those behind the modern day slavery.
In the last few months about 200 Nigerians have been repatriated back to the country from Ghana.
The latest returnees ages 17 to 19 from Bayelsa and Ebonyi states, Divine, Favour and Bright, claimed that their Aunties lured them into the sexual trade in Ghana under the guise of helping them to secure jobs and there.
In line with collaborative efforts between NiDCOM and NAPTIP, the girls were handed over to NAPTIP for proper profiling and reintegration.
The NIDCOM Chairman, as done in previous cases, in the past, personally took care of their accommodation in Lagos and paid for their transportation back to their states.