At least seventy-one young Nigerian girls that were trafficked to Lebanon and seen in a video that had gone viral where they were crying for help has finally been rescued. They arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, early today, Monday.
The Head of NEMA Abuja Operation Office Mr. Bitrus Samuel disclosed this to the news correspondents. He went further to say that the girls were the second batch of the more than 150 Nigerian girls who were trafficked to Lebanon in search of greener pastures. Reports claimed that 94 victims that constituted the first batch were received at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
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Samuel said that the latest victim will leave the airport to the hotel where the agency responsible for trafficking prohibition in Nigeria which is the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons will do a background their records. The girls will undergo quarantine by the agency just precaution against coronavirus pandemic. The person in charge of public relations for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ferdinand Nwonye, identified what prompted the resue. He said the viral video prompted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to move for the resue of the girls.
He said the Ministry had several meetings with Mr. Houssam Diab, who is the Ambassador of Lebanon to Nigeria before the Lebanese Government agreed to release the girls to the Federal Government.
He said that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, expressed extreme sadness when he saw the video footage.
Nwonye further revealed that said that following the discussions between the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Lebanese Ambassador to Nigeria, the Lebanese community in Nigeria through the facilitation of the Nigerian mission in situated Beirut chartered a flight, and proceeded to pay for the flight tickets for these girls to return to Nigeria.
According to several reports, various government officials from NAPTIP, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Nigeria in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) were at the airport to receive them.
