The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) has confirmed that three more Nigerian girls trafficked to Ghana have been rescued and repatriated to the country.
In a press statement signed by the Director of Media, Public Relations and Protocols Unit, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, on Friday, the commission said the girls, Divine, Favour, and Bright, aged between 17 and 19, were lured into prostitution by their aunts who deceived them with promises of gainful employment in Ghana.
Speaking at the NiDCOM office in Lagos on Thursday, where the girls were received and later handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the Chairman/CEO of NiDCOM, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, decried the continued silence around traffickers.
She commended Chief Callistus Elozieuwa, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, NIDO Ghana, for consistently working with Ghanaian security agencies to rescue victims, the Nigerian Embassy in Ghana for strong consular support, and First Lady, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu, for facilitating the girls’ transportation back to Nigeria.
She said, “Until we begin to name and shame the perpetrators of this modern-day slavery, human trafficking will not end.”
According to the statement, over 169 Nigerians have been repatriated from Ghana in recent months, a sign that the trafficking network remains active.
The girls, who hail from Bayelsa and Ebonyi States, are currently in the custody of NAPTIP for profiling and rehabilitation.
