Air Peace brings back 78 trafficked Nigerians from Abidjan

• Human trafficking,  blight on our shared humanity, says Onyema

Nigeria’s flag carrier airline, Air Peace as part of its humanitarian service Nigeria’s has helped to evacuate 78 trafficked Nigerian women from Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The evacuation of stranded Nigerians was done late Friday night.

The flight, operated on a Boeing 737 aircraft with registration 5N-BQV, departed Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport at 2:14 PM and landed at Félix Houphouët-Boigny International Airport in Abidjan before returning to Lagos at 10:46 PM with the rescued women onboard.

Many of the women shared harrowing accounts of deception, exploitation, and abandonment in the Francophone country, where they had been trafficked under false promises of work and better lives.

The mission was initiated and led by Mr. Allen Ifechukwu Onyema, Chairman and CEO of Air Peace, who had earlier in April committed to flying the victims back home at no cost. Beyond the free flight, the airline also extended medical and psychosocial support to the returnees as part of its broader humanitarian package.

“Human trafficking is a blight on our shared humanity,” Onyema said at the Lagos airport as he received the women. “As an airline of the people, we cannot stand by while Nigerians suffer abroad. We are not just about aviation; we are about nation-building.”

The successful operation was made possible through a coordinated effort involving Air Peace, the Nigerian Embassy in Abidjan, and the Nigerian Community in Côte d’Ivoire.

Chief Michael Emeka Onwuchelu, President of the Nigerian Community in Côte d’Ivoire, described the evacuation as “a miracle.”

“What Mr. Onyema and Air Peace have done transcends corporate responsibility. This is godly. At a time when many would look away, they stepped up. The Nigerian community is eternally grateful,” he said.

Mr. Paul Obi, a senior officer at the Nigerian Embassy in Abidjan, also commended the airline’s swift response and support.

“Many of these women were undocumented and vulnerable. The rescue would have been nearly impossible without Air Peace. This mission has restored dignity and hope.”

Onyema reaffirmed the airline’s commitment to national causes and humanitarian relief, promising that Air Peace would continue to respond to Nigerians in distress across the globe.

This latest intervention follows several others by the airline, including the 2019 evacuation of 503 Nigerians affected by xenophobic violence in South Africa, COVID-19 repatriation flights in 2020, the airlift of Nigerians stranded during the Ukraine-Russia crisis in 2022, and the evacuation of 277 citizens from war-torn Sudan in 2023.

Wole Shadare