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The Nigeria Ministry of Foreign Affairs says 75 out of 230 stranded Nigerian Soccer fans absconded in Russia after the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The ministry’s Spokesperson, Dr. Tope Elias-Fatile, stated this in Abuja that the fans absconded despite government’s efforts to repatriate them.
Fatile stated that 230 stranded Nigerian soccer fans have been profiled to board charter Ethiopian Airline to Abuja however on the last-minute, solely 155 boarded the flight.
“As at the last count, over 230 stranded Nigerians had been cleared to board an Ethiopian Airline flight to Abuja, nonetheless, only 155 boarded the flight that arrived Friday night time July 22,” he stated.
He stated that the ministry officers needed to contribute to feed a few of the stranded Nigerians in Moscow as a lot of them have been left with nothing.
He stated that although that they had the rights not to come again however it might be better for them to return due to the unfavorable weather in that nation.
He stated that the mission had completed quite a bit to facilitate their coming again however they didn’t respect it.
“Do you know that the officers at mission need to sacrifice their incomes by contributing cash to feed the stranded fans,” he stated.
He stated that if, nonetheless, they repented and determined to come back again, the ministry was ever prepared to help them.
Fatile stated that Federal Authorities was ever prepared to help Nigerians at anytime, wherever on the planet.
The spokesperson stated that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, had additionally made some contacts with related agencies to begin investigation into suspected human trafficking in the case.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, who was at the airport to observe their arrival, had stated that the Federal Government was going to probe the case.
He stated that authorities had resolved to investigate suspected human trafficking within the case of the Nigerian soccer fans, who got stranded in Russia after the World Cup match.
Onyeama stated that the plan to probe the problem surrounding the incident was underway.
He stated after a dialogue with the Director-General of National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Ms Julie Okah–Donli, it was clear that there have been potential instances of human trafficking among the many returnees.
“I’ve spoken to the D-G of NAPTIP and she had additionally indicated that they had sounded the alarm bells for these younger kids not to depart the nation, that it had all of the hallmarks of trafficking and irregular migration,” he stated.
The minister insisted that a few of them, amongst who was a nursing mother, have been fairly too young to have travelled to Russia by themselves solely for the aim of the World Cup match.
He added that an investigation would even be launched into an allegation that some travel brokers cancelled the return tickets of the soccer fans without informing them, leaving them stranded within the European nation.
