NIDCOM rescues 30 Nigerians stranded in Lebanon

… to be evacuated with 150 others

The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) has said 30 Nigerians who were stranded in Lebanon have been rescued, relocated, and waiting to be evacuated to Nigeria with 150 others.

The NIDCOM Media and Public Relations Officer, Gabriel Odu, disclosed this in a statement made available to TW on Tuesday.

“30 Nigerians in a video appealing for help have been rescued by the Nigerian Mission in Lebanon, and have been relocated to a more conducive apartment,” the statement read.

TW gathered that the 30 Nigerians would be part of 150 others trafficked and stranded in Lebanon to be evacuated back to Nigeria.

Houssam Diab, the Lebanese Ambassador to Nigeria disclosed the evacuation plans when the Management of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, NIDCOM, led by  Sule Yakubu Bassi, the Secretary visited the Embassy in Abuja.

Diab said the 150 girls would be returned home in batches, stating that the first batch of 110 would leave Beirut, Lebanon on August 12 to Lagos while the second Batch will be returned to Abuja on  August 16.

He commended the efforts of the Lebanese Community and the Oyo State Government which is sponsoring the return of 55 of the girls.

A breakdown of the number of girls shows that a large proportionate of them are from South-western Nigeria.

Oyo State has 41, Ogun State 21, Lagos State 12, Ondo State 18, Osun State 26, Imo State 3, Kwara State Ekiti State 6.

Enugu, Kogi, Edo, Delta, Ebonyi, Benue, Abia, Akwa Ibom and Anambra States have 1 indigene each in the list of the girls ready to be evacuated to Nigeria.

On July 30, a viral video on social media showed how the Nigerian ladies cried out to the Federal Government to rescue them from Lebanon.

The ladies alleged that the Nigerian Embassy in Lebanon had shunned their calls for help claiming that the embassy officials did not allow them to meet with the ambassador.