Ninety-four Nigerian ladies stranded in Lebanon have returned home on Thursday evening following the intervention of the Federal Government.
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) disclosed the arrival of the ladies on its official Twitter handle.
A video of the girls, numbering 150, crying for help, had recently gone viral on social media, prompting the Nigerian government to move in.
BREAKING NEWS
EVACUATION UPDATE:94 out of 150 Stranded Nigeria Girls arrive Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos from Lebanon today Wednesday, 12th of August, 2020. pic.twitter.com/20s74OyOvU
— Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (@nidcom_gov) August 12, 2020
According to NIDCOM, the ladies who arrived at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos will undergo a 14-day self-isolation in line with the guidelines of the Federal Government on COVID-19.
In a video posted by the Chairman of NIDCOM, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the returnees could be seen singing and thanking the Federal Government for repatriating them.
Our stranded girls in Lebanon.. Ecstatic to be back home pic.twitter.com/wdLmY4Nfqz
— Abike Dabiri-Erewa (@abikedabiri) August 12, 2020
While calling on the government to come to their rescue, the ladies were seen in the viral video clustered in a room, seated in a tight circle, and their backs against the wall.
Some stood and one of them could be seen fanning herself.
They all wore face masks or covered their faces as a voice boomed in the background. “Good morning our government,” the voice started. “Please, we are pleading with you, we are stranded . . . we want to come home.”
Quest For Greener Pastures
On August 1, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) said about 5,000 Nigerians are stranded in Lebanon.
The agency’s Director-General, Julie Okah-Donli confirmed the figure, saying many Nigerians are being trafficked into the country with the promise of good, well-paid jobs.
On the viral video of the ladies, she said: “When these ones are airlifted, another batch will cry for help.”
