Seventeen young Nigerian women who had been trafficked to Ghana have been rescued and returned to Nigeria, with authorities apprehending five individuals responsible.
According to a statement by Abdur-Rahman Balogun, Head of Media and Public Relations at NiDCOM, the rescued women, aged between 18 and 29, were from states such as Anambra, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Imo, Edo, and Ebonyi. They had been deceived with false job promises and were later forced into exploitative conditions and sworn to secrecy.
This recent operation, which brings the total number of repatriated Nigerian women from Ghana to 130 since July 2024, was a collaborative effort led by Ghana’s Anti-Human Trafficking Police, the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) Ghana, and the Nigerian High Commission in Accra.
Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chair of NiDCOM, credited Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, for her support in the mission and acknowledged the efforts of NIDO Ghana’s Board of Trustees Chairman, Chief Callistus Elozieuwa, and Ghana’s Anti-Human Trafficking Unit.
Dabiri-Erewa emphasized NiDCOM’s dedication to protecting Nigerians abroad under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritizes combating human trafficking. She affirmed the agency’s commitment to rescuing more trafficked Nigerians, with support from various stakeholders.
Williams Ayaregah, Director of Ghana’s Anti-Human Trafficking Unit, praised NiDCOM’s work and issued a warning to traffickers that Ghana is no longer a safe location for such crimes.
The operation took place in Kpone Katamanso, Tema, marking one of the largest arrests in a single raid, with five traffickers detained. NiDCOM’s Akinboye Akinsola assisted in escorting the women back to Nigeria, where they were handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons for rehabilitation. Additionally, two young men were repatriated, including one who had been previously imprisoned in Ghana.
