The Lebanese Government said it no longer issues work visas to Nigerians visiting Lebanon seeking employment as domestic workers as part of measures to stem the rising incidences of human trafficking in the country.
The Lebanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Houssam Diab, who made this known in Abuja on Thursday during a meeting with the Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said the policy took effect on May 1.
According to him, it is expected that the decision would address the abuse and violation of rights of workers “as Lebanon takes these issues seriously.”
Recall that in the recent past, a number of Nigerian ladies, prominent among them, Busari Peace, an indigenes Oyo State, who was put for sale on Facebook for $1,000 by her trafficker, a Lebanese national, had been trafficked to Lebanon by a syndicate with promises of lucrative jobs.
On May 24, 69 trafficked and stranded ladies were evacuated by the Lebanese Government to the country.
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He said: “Sixty-nine out of the 79 Nigerians, who suffered one form of abuse or the other in Lebanon, were evacuated at the expense of the Lebanese Government and the Lebanese community in Nigeria.
“The remaining 10 are facing judicial issues bordering on alleged theft and attempted murder and that’s why they were not freed or evacuated. Nine are facing theft cases and one is facing attempted murder.”
In her own remarks, Dabiri-Erewa disclosed that Peace, who was rescued from her trafficker through the efforts of Nigerian and Lebanese governments, refused to return to Nigeria despite pleas by the Oyo State Government.
“The lady said she had secured another job and would prefer staying back in Lebanon. Not even the plea by Oyo State, her home state, could make her change her mind as she insisted on staying back,” she stated.
