One of the returnees from Mali, a 21-year-old Miss Irhobosa Orhumnzie, has narrated her experience after she left Nigeria.
Orhumnzie was among 109 returnees repatriated from Mali on Tuesday.
They arrived at the International Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Ikeja in Lagos.
The Director-General of NEMA, AVM Muhammed Muhammadu (rtd), receiving the returnees, said that they would be isolated for 14 days in Ikeja before they would reunite with their families.
Narrating her experience, the returnee said she and 24 others left Nigeria with her madam ‘trafficker’ about six months ago with the hope of going to Dubai.
However, she crossed over to Cotonou from Lagos and landed in Mali where she was arrested by the police, NAN reports.
“My madam (her trafficker) took about 25 of us and told us that she would take us to Dubai.
“We took off from Lagos and crossed over to Cotonou in Togo and from there we went straight to Mali.”
The 21-year-old said they were arrested at Bamako, Mali by the police and that’s how she got stranded.
“But immediately we entered Bamako, Mali, the Malian Police arrested our madam and all of us, they asked us if we were interested to go back to Nigeria, all of us volunteered to return to our country.
” They asked us if we were interested in dealing with our madam, we just told them we just wish to return to Nigeria and they should do whatever they want with her,” she added.
The returnee explained that from the police station, they were taken to the Nigerian Embassy, but stayed there longer because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“The IOM facilitated our return to Nigeria. We are also grateful to the Malian Police, the embassy staff for helping us come back to Nigeria safely,” she added.
