138 Nigerians Deported From South Africa, Mali
Less than 24 hours 41 Nigerian girls who were victims of human trafficking to Europe were deported to the country from Mali, another 97 Nigerians have been brought back from South Africa Monday night.
Amongst the 97 deportees that came from South Africa, six of the deportees were returned into the country for drug offences; 10 were arrested and deported for criminal offences while others committed immigration offences in the Southern African country.
The deportees comprising males and females arrived Murtala Muhammed International Airport at night on Monday with a chartered aircraft with the registration number GBB710 from Johannesburg, South Africa. The deportees are 95 males and two females.
Those deported for drug and criminal offences were immediately handed over to police for further prosecution while others with civil cases were left to go home after proofing by the officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) at the airport.
Before the 97 deportees from South Africa touched down, a total of 41 Nigerian girls who were victims of human trafficking to Europe had been deported to the country.
They also arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport , Lagos on Monday aboard a military transport aircraft otherwise known as Hercules C139 marked with registration number Nigerian Air Force 913.
The aircraft landed at the Nigerian Air Force Hangar wing of the Lagos Airport about 7.25 pm .
The deportation of the girls, was a fall out of collaboration between the Ministry of Defence , Nigerian Air Force, Office of the Senior Assistant to the President on Diaspora, and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons(NAPTIP) which evacuated the girls from Bamako, the Malian capital.
Speaking in an interview, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Diaspora, Hon Abika Dabiri – Erewa said their evacuation was made possible with assistance from the Chief of Defence Staff, Nigerian Air Force, NAPTIP and relevant agencies of government .
She said their return home was part of directive from President Buhari, who insisted that Nigerians stranded anywhere in te world should be assisted to return home .
She urged the returnees to make the best use of their lives as there was nothing tangible they were doing in Mali .
Erewa said there were many Nigerians that are stranded in Mali, who should be brought home.
She said prior to their evacuation NAPTIP officials had travelled to Mali for documentation and other logistics to ease the return of the girls.
Some of the girls complained of being allowed to take their belongings as they were literally brought home ” empty handed .”
She said the 41 girls are victims of trafficking by some powerful individuals .
She applauded the Chief of Defence Staff , Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Air Staff for granted the aircraft to facilitate the evacuation of the girls .
She said :” NAPTIP will rehabilitate them, we have commenced profiling of the girls. We call on Non Governmental Organizations to join us in tacking this problem.
” They were deceived into embarking on the journey . We will ensure we train them to the state of proficiency in different vocations , after which we trace their parents and counsel them. West will monitor the girls for two years, so they do not sell the vocational equipment”, Dabiri-Elewa said.
” It goes beyond poverty for them to embark on such mission .
Government had to rescue them because they sent a distress call . This made Buhari to direct the service chiefs to wade into the matter to rescue the girls”, the SSA said.