Pascal Arogorn Ibe
A 28-year-old Nigerian, Miss Kemi Najeeb who hails from Ikire town in Osun State has appealed to the Nigerian government to come to her rescue in Oman where she is being held in captivity.
The President, Journalist International Forum for Migration (JIFORM), Mr Ajibola Abayomi, narrated Kemi’s situation in a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday.
Abayomi stated that Kemi left for Oman in November 2016 in search of greener pasture after being talked into a deal by a close friend.
Upon arrival in Oman, her host seized her passport and other vital documents to retain her service as a housemaid.
In the last four years, Kemi has been engaged as housemaid in four different locations on monthly stipends that were never paid in most cases.
“Some months ago according to her, she was traded off to her present boss for 8,000 Riyals (N700, 000).
“Although her current boss placed her on a monthly salary of N70,000 per, she has been facing serious sexual harassments,’’ Abayomi stated.
Narrating her ordeal to JIFORM during an exclusive telephone chat, Kemi said: “at the current house I am now working, the man wants to sleep with me but I have been refusing him.
“So he told me to go back to the office that brought me to him. I am being starved and kept indoors without being allowed to go out.
“I can no longer cope with this job so please I want to go back home. Kindly assist me. I have an Ordinary National Diploma from Offa Polytechnic.
“There are better opportunities in Nigeria. I am tired. All the money I have been getting I used to send it home to assist my younger one,’’ Kemi lamented.
The JIFORM president said all the other vital information about the victim would be forwarded to the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for further action.
“Recall that between July and September JIFORM was instrumental to the rescue of 138 Nigerian ladies trafficked to Saudi Arabia and an additional 435 women also trapped in Yemen, Oman, Lebanon and other Arab nations.
“We shall provide Kemi’s details as well as those of other ladies to NAPTIP and follow up on their rescue as well the prosecution of the trafficking agency involved,’’ Ajibola pledged.
Reacting to the plight of the lady, NAPTIP Director General, Julie Okah-Donli said
she was deeply concerned and shared the pain and agony of the said victim.
Okah-Donli who spoke through the agency’s Press Officer, Mr Vincent Adekoye, assured that the agency would ensure Kemi’s safe return to Nigeria.
“We will help in line with the agency’s determination to respond to the plight of trafficked persons.
“”The agency solicits for information that will enable it to work with international and local partners with a view to rescuing her and ensuring her safe return to Nigeria,’’ she said.
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