The Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Julie Okah-Donli, today sad that the agency, under the Federal Government is working to evacuate 30 Nigerian girls stranded in Lebanon.
The girls, most of whom are teenagers featured in a video clip that went viral this weekend wearing face masks. They were all packed in a small room with no furniture or beddings.
One of them pleaded with the President, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, politicians and religious leaders to help them return home. They all also echoed the words of their leader that they want to come home.
NAPTIP DG told Channels News that the girls were among 150 persons already processed for evacuation by the Nigerian Embassy in Lebanon.
She added that different groups of Nigerians cry for help in foreign lands and the agency is financially stretched as the cost of evacuating them is enormous.
According to her, “about 150 of them have been captured including the girls in the video for evacuation, but the cost of catering a flight amid coronavirus-induced lock-downs across the world is not cheap.”
Okay Donali added that, “when these ones are airlifted, another batch will cry for help. The Federal Government cannot afford this alone.
She said she will work with the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Sadiya Umar Farouq and state governments to evacuate the 30 ladies.
Lebanon is undergoing the worst economic crises in decades unfortunately, Nigerians get constantly lured to country with promises of good jobs.
NAPTIP DG added that “a few weeks ago, we had a planeload of girls coming from Lebanon. So this is not a one-off exercise. Its a gradual work in progress because we have about 5,000 of them in Lebanon alone and we talking about more in Oman, Dubai, Mali, all over the place.
“It’s not a cheap exercise, it’s a very expensive exercise and the federal government is doing all it can to bring them back.”
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