One of Nigeria’s leading airlines, Air Peace at the weekend evacuated 78 Nigerian women who were victims of human trafficking from the Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire to Nigeria via the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos.
The airline disclosed that gesture was part of its nation-first humanitarian intervention using its luxurious wide-body Boeing 737 aircraft with registration mark 5N-BQV.
The flight had departed Lagos at 14:14hrs, and returned late Saturday night affirming that the exercise marks yet another milestone in its long-standing commitment to the Nigerian people.
The airline’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Allen Onyema, expressed deep concern for the condition of the rescued women and reaffirmed his personal and corporate commitment to restoring their dignity.
Allen said “I don’t look down on anybody. They also deserve the best. That is why we enrolled all of them in Duchess Hospital. We got the names of 150 at first. All 150, whenever they come in.
Today we have about 78; they are going to Duchess Hospital in the morning because they had to close tonight. But tomorrow morning, all of them will be there. If you want to see them, you will see them. They will test them. Whatever you have, Air Peace will bear the brunt of the treatment—not just tests—so that we can release them into society,” he said.
Dr. Onyema commended Nigerian activist VeryDarkMan for bringing the victims’ plight to light, and called on citizens to be vigilant and supportive in combating human trafficking.
The Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Binta Lami Adamu Bello, also commended the collaboration that made the operation possible and emphasized Nigeria’s unwavering commitment to eradicating trafficking.