27 stranded Nigerian girls evacuated from Lebanon

ANKARA (AA) - Some 27 Nigerian girls, who were stranded in Lebanon, returned to their country on Sunday, local media reported Monday.

The evacuation of the stranded girls, who arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, came as a result of joint effort by the Nigeria’s federal government, the Lebanese government and its community in Nigeria, according to The Punch news website.

“I am here on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs who facilitated this return, together with the Ministry of Aviation, Embassy of Nigeria in Beirut, the Lebanese Embassy in Nigeria and the Lebanese community in Nigeria,” the Punch quoted Ferdinand Nwonye, the Nigerian Foreign Ministry spokesman, as stating the returnees.

“It is unfortunate the situation you passed through; which is why the ministries concerned made sure you are here today and we are telling you that you are now home today and nothing will happen to you,” he said.

Nwonye told reporters that the stranded Nigerians were evacuated in line with the Nigerian federal government’s guidelines on COVID-19 evacuations, according to The Punch.

The 27 evacuated girls tested negative for the virus before heading to their homeland and would be allowed to return to their homes following 14 days of self-isolation, he explained.

The returnees said they have suffered many challenges in Lebanon with many of them being owed seven to eight months salaries by their employers, according to The Interview.

On Aug. 17, local media reported 71 young Nigerian girls trafficked to Lebanon were brought back to Abuja after they appeared in a video in which they were crying for help to be rescued.