80,000 Nigerians abroad held as sex slaves, labourers – Reps

Up to 80,000 Nigerians are stranded in different countries where they are being held as sex slaves or subjected to forced labour, a federal lawmaker has alleged.

Tolulope Akande-Sadipe, who chairs the House committee on Diaspora, in a statement on Sunday cited Lebanon and others in the Middle East.

The House of Representatives has alleged that, about 80,000 Nigerians are stranded in various countries among whom some are being currently held as sex slaves and and subjected to forced labour across the world.

“The current and ongoing sordid dehumanizing treatments foisted on Nigerians abroad particularly trafficked girls under the cover of foreign domestic staff has become very disturbing,” she said in a statement.

“According to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), in the past one year, there has been an alarming number of daily distress calls from Nigerian women crying to be rescued due to the inhumane conditions they face in various parts of the Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Oman and Lebanon and Mali, with Lebanon, Oman and Mali being top on the list,” she said.

She cited hardship faced by some Nigerian students  in Turkey who want to return home but are unable to pay the fares for their evacuation flight.

The lawmaker called on the House of Representatives to prevail on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to negotiate for an affordable fare to be paid by Nigerians in diaspora who wanted to return to the country.

It could be recalled that, Sadipe had earlier moved a motion under matters of urgent public importance at the plenary on Thursday condemned the lacklustre attitude of ministries of Foreign Affairs, Labour and Employment.

According to her, their complacency partly brought about the hardship in the form of  modern-day slavery, sexual exploitation and organ harvesting among other ills being meted out on some Nigerian young girls. (Daily Trust)