Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) has appealed to youths travelling out to be purposeful and beware of dangerous people, trafficking them out for their selfish and personal gains.
Represented by Ayo Okuribido who led a delegation of NIDCOM staff to receive Miss Omowunmi Rhoda Aladeboyeje at Muritala Muhammed Airport Lagos at 2.00 am, who was rescued from Cairo, Egypt, she thanked the Nigerian mission in Cairo for their prompt intervention. Rhoda was profiled by Immigration officials on her return and handed over to NAPTIP, in the presence of a representative of the family ,Engr Benjamin Akinbobola.
This was disclosed in a statement by Abdur-Rahman Balogun, Head, Media and Public Relations Unit NIDCOM, Abuja.
The NIDCOM boss said Rhoda’s story is the same as that of many victims, lured abroad under the guise of securing them a job.
She restated her appeals for Nigerians especially youth trooping out of the country in search of an elusive greener pasture, insisting that trafickers must be arrested, named , shamed and punished for this dastardly act .
Dabiri-Erewa thanked God for Rhoda for making it back to Nigeria alive and urged her not to be tempted to embark on such journey again.
Rhoda, 35, arrived Nigeria on Saturday at 4.50 am via Royal Air Maroc .
She was trafficked on March 17, 2020 and claimed to be sexually harassed on a regular basis, beaten frequently and home imprisoned sometimes.
Rhoda, a mother of four, was trafficked by her immediate elder brother who claimed there was a nursing job opportunity in America.
However, going to America turned out to be a ruse. She was trafficked to Egypt and went through so much torture and hell. When a distress call from her family member was received by NIDCOM, the Nigerian mission in Cairo was contacted immediately to put all logistics in place to facilitate her return.
With that done, and with Rhoda in the safe custody of the mission, her family made provisions for her ticket home.
An auxiliary nurse by profession, she is presently on her way to her home town, Okitipupa in Ondo State.
