Seventeen Nigerian women trafficked to Ghana have been rescued and repatriated, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) announced Sunday. Five suspected traffickers were also arrested.
NiDCOM spokesperson Abdur-Rahman Balogun said the operation, conducted in Kpone Katamanso, Tema, was a collaborative effort involving the Ghanaian Anti-Human Trafficking Police, Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) Ghana, and the Nigerian High Commission in Accra.
Akinboye Akinsola, a NiDCOM representative, accompanied the rescued women back to Nigeria, where they were handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for rehabilitation. The women, aged 18 to 29, were from Anambra, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Imo, Edo, and Ebonyi States.
“They were lured to Ghana with false job offers but faced exploitation and were bound by oaths of secrecy,” Balogun said.
Ghana’s Anti-Human Trafficking Unit director Williams Ayaregah warned, “More than ever, traffickers must realise that Ghana is no longer a safe haven.”
NiDCOM chair Abike Dabiri-Erewa thanked First Lady Oluremi Tinubu for facilitating the women’s safe return and praised NIDO-Ghana and Ghanaian authorities for their support.
—Ezinwanne Onwuka reports for TruthNigeria from Abuja.
