78 girls traff!cked for s£x slávery return from Côte d’Ivoire after VDM intervention

Seventy-eight of the 150 young Nigerian women trafficked to Cote d’Ivoire for s#x slavery were safely returned to the country in the early hours of Sunday, May 11.

Recall that in April, social critic, Martins Vincent Otse aka Very Dark Man raised alarm about the conditions of the trafficked girls.

Thankfully, they returned home aboard Air Peace flight was scheduled for 3:30 pm on Saturday, but that didn’t happen until past 11 pm following some diplomatic issues with the Ivorian authorities in Abidjan.

Those who returned comprised 75 females between the ages of 13 and 30, three babies, and two adult males, with the majority of them looking malnourished and battered, indicative of the horror they had been through.

Four of the returnees, including those under 14 years, were pregnant, just as Air Peace pledged to foot the medical bills of all 150 victims.

On the ground to receive the victims were the Director General, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Binta Adamu Bello; the Chief Executive of Air Peace, Allen Onyema; Social media activist, Martins Otse alias VeryDarkMan; the President of the Nigerian Community in Cote D’Ivoire, Michael Emeka Onwuchekwa and representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Regina Ocheni.

Speaking to newsmen upon their return, NAPTIP’s DG said all available means and strategies would be deployed to ensure the arrest and prosecution of those behind the atrocious crime.

She mentioned that two of the major masterminds had been apprehended in a mansion in Abuja with two victims rescued from them, adding that the agency was already working with relevant partners to arrest others involved in the crime. [CONTINUE READING HERE]>>>>