Nigeria commends Ghana for helping to rescue 219 nationals and 12 others expected to arrive Lagos today
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Nigeria has commended Ghanaian authorities for helping to rescue about 219 of its young citizens trafficked to that country and forced into cybercrime.
Joined with other victims of trafficking intercepted in Ghana, up to 231 Nigerian youths are expected to arrive Lagos on April 25 and handed to government officials.
Foreign Affairs Minister of State Bianca Ojukwu made the commendation when she visited the Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO) in Accra where the victims were detained.
She reiterated Abuja’s commitment to providing the youth with technical education and skills to curb growing unemployment.
Ojukwu, at a meeting with EOCO Executive Director Bashiru Dapilah and other officials, expressed gratitude to the operatives for doing their job professionally, especially for treating the victims with dignity.
She is currently in Ghana for the official launch of the 50th anniversary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Extraordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers on the withdrawal of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
She described human trafficking as modern slavery, obnoxious, man’s inhumanity to man, callous and inhuman, the exploitation of innocent young people.
Ojukwu urged Nigerian youths to shun people who may promise them irresistible job offers outside the shores of the country which may be baits to lure them into crime slavery.
She disclosed that the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana alerted her of how the victims were held under inhuman conditions by the perpetrators before the sting operation that burst the syndicate.
Her words: “Prior to their rescue, these boys had been locked up in about 25 rooms within the estate where they were used to perpetrate cybercrimes.
“At the time of their arrest, many of them, being locked inside confined spaces with computers for weeks on end without being let outside, were even unable to get their eyes to adjust to the sun when they were led outside those dark rooms.
“Some had been serially abused with visible lacerations inflicted on them by their criminal ‘don’ while one had his legs broken for not tendering all the proceeds of his cybercrime.”
She told the victims at the premises of the EOCO that they were fortunate to have been rescued, as many others have lost their lives in similar circumstances and some rot in jails across the world.
“Count yourselves lucky as next time, it may not be a benevolent country like Ghana. It may not be a circumstance within a location where we have excellent bilateral relations.
“There are countries that take cybercrimes very seriously and by the time they lock you up, they will throw away the key.
“We are still trying to this day to ensure that Ethiopia signs our exchange or transfer of sentenced persons MoU so that we can bring those nationals who are trapped in their prisons back to Nigeria. So we don’t lose even more of them.
“We are happy that this commission has excellent relations with NAPTIP and they have been kind enough.
“I was really humbled when the Executive Director said their interest is not for these young men to get back to Nigeria into the prison system; because that’s what usually happens.
“Under that situation, they are obliged to hand you over to law enforcement, correctional facilities in Nigeria and then you know what will happen. It’s another cycle of your relatives coming to prison to bring you food.”
Ojukwu reiterated that the Nigerian government is committed to citizen-centred diplomacy as a cardinal thrust of foreign policy and has laudable programmes, particularly those that provide youths with skills so they do not indulge in crime.
She urged the victims to take advantage of this second chance that God has made possible for them by keying into some of the intervention programmes of the federal government.
“Know that East, West, home is best. So, when you get home, give the government opportunity to equip you with skills.
“I am also using this opportunity to commend other Nigerians who are industrious, hardworking and law-abiding in Ghana.
“I can assure you that Ghana will have the support and cooperation of the Nigerian Government in the fight against organised crimes.
“It’s something that our own Economic and Financial Crimes Commission will want to be part of to ensure that we are not seen as headquarters of economic crimes.”
Dapilah explained how his team acted on intelligence in carrying out the rescue operation.
“We are not looking at this as a Nigerian crime because you have some backing of Ghanaians. The estate where they lived, we arrested the owner and he will be prosecuted,” he said.
“We require collaboration between our two countries. The crime is committed here in Ghana but we know that somebody in Nigeria was behind it.
“So, these persons have been rescued but the next thing is the collaboration to ensure that the perpetrators are apprehended.
“As you go home, take the message to our counterpart in Nigeria that we will be needing collaboration to round up the perpetrators
“We have a large Nigerian population here that are law-abiding especially where they are selling spare parts. We have a lot of them running restaurants where we go to eat Nigerian delicacies.”
Dapilah thanked the Nigerian High Commission for working closely with the EOCO, stressing how the Chargé D’Affaires, Dayo Adeoye, collaborated with the agency.
Adeoye disclosed that more than three million Nigerians live in Ghana and many of them are doing well, helping the economic development of their host country.
He sought aggressive enlightenment to curb the spate of trafficking involving Nigerians.
Read also:
Agency rescues Ghanaians trafficked to Lagos and held captive on false job promises
