Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The House of Representatives on Thursday said Temitope Ariwolo, a 31 years old Nigerian woman, who was abused by her employers in Lebanon and prevented from leaving the country, as well as other Nigerians held captive in similar circumstances will be evacuated back to Nigeria this weekend.
The chairman, House Committee on Diaspora, Tolulope Sadipe, stated this, in Abuja, after a closed door meeting with the Lebanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Houssam Diab, at the National Assembly.
Sadipe stated that Nigeria and Lebanon will always work together to ensure justice and human rights, especially in bringing an end to modern day slavery.
The lawmaker charged Nigerians to join the fight against human trafficking by reporting perpetrators to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).
According to her, “We are also taking this opportunity to look at the case of a Lebanese who is held in Illorin charges of human trafficking to ensure that there is merit in the case.
“We will continue to collaborate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure that we have a continued relationship with Lebanon that our girls can go there legally to work and work in circumstances that are not dehumanizing.
“You will be invited on the day Temitope arrives and you will see that this is not eye service and not just Temitope, that flight is bringing in Ladies who want to come home and we will continue to bring home those who want to come home. The Lebanese Government is promising us now that it will ensure our girls work in very humane circumstances.
“To Nigerians, keep your eyes open, there is a source at home that is fueling human trading. There are Nigerians that you and I need to monitor them and ensure that the human trafficking source here in Nigeria is brought to an end. So we need to be our brother keeper. If you know any of those agents you need to go and report them to NAPTIP”.