Dr Allen Onyema, Chairman of Air Peace Airlines, has voiced great worry and outrage following the recent finding of Nigerian underage girls trafficked to Côte d’Ivoire.
This was made public in a statement signed by Onyema and made available to journalists on Saturday.
Onyema pledged that his airline would arrange for the girls’ free return to Nigeria from the French-speaking West African country.
Martins Otse, also known as a VeryDarkMan, a social media influencer, revealed on Thursday that 1,200 underage Nigerian girls who were trafficked to Ivory Coast are still in the country.
The social media influencer also threatened to drag the Chairman of Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri, if the trafficking girls were not brought back to the country in one week after the video.
Our correspondent also observed a video of the influencer comforting four young Nigerian girls who were crying and speaking in Hausa.
The Chairman of Air Peace, however, appealed for concerted efforts to discourage trafficking, underlining its brutal and sinful nature.
The airline’s owner allegedly promised the trafficking girls immediate medical assistance when they returned to the country.
In his words, “We should discourage trafficking of any kind. It is inhumane and callous. It is absolutely ungodly and a good example of man’s inhumanity to man. We at Air Peace are ready to bring our fellow citizens back home free of charge.
“Besides that, we are going to send all of them to Duchess International Hospital in Ikeja for free medical examination and treatment.
“While we implore the Nigerian Embassy in Côte d’Ivoire to assemble them and reach out to us, we equally call on the Federal Government to take charge of their education while reuniting them with their families.”
