Monday, September 12, 2011

Human traffickers are killing Nigerians in the desert

For many years now, there have increasing cases of Nigerians' illegal migration to Europe via the desert as victims of human trafficking and sex slavery.


Despite the fact that only a few of the thousands that embark on the journey come back to tell their stories, the misinformation and the desperation for economic empowerment which Europe may represent have continued to lure more Nigerian youths and their counterparts from other African countries to continuously fall into the trap of a cartel said to be involved in the dastardly act.


Over 2,000 Nigerian youths who embark on this journey every month, according to reports, face near death situations while some die after being stranded in the desert and the women among them forced into prostitution.


Many who make it to Europe work in exploitative conditions while others take on menial jobs under despicable conditions just to survive.


Recently, one of the victims, Mr. Osita Osemene, a graduate of industrial mathematics and a native of Ubulukwu, Aniocha South, Local Government area of Delta State, narrated his ordeal to Sunday Vanguard as part of the activities to mark one year anniversary of his return and that of his organisation, Patriotic Citizen Initiative, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) focusing on discouraging youths from desert traveling.


It all started when Osita could not secure employment three years after graduation from the University of Benin and the car business he was introduced to collapsed in the hands of debtors. As a young man desperately dreaming to have a better life, he decided to go to Europe for greener pastures through any available means without any inclination of what such journey holds in store for him.


The facilitators made him to believe that, through the desert, he and his seven other colleagues would make the trip to Europe in five days. But the journey lasted 91 days and, apart from Osita, no one seems to know the whereabouts of the seven others till date.


According to Osita, the emotional trauma he experienced when he lost his car business to debtors and visa racketeers were nothing to compare with the desert journey.


Before he met his desert migration link-man, Osita paid N250, 000 to a visa racketeer for two years London visa but the visa was discovered to be fake by security agents at the Lagos airport.


Osita was still in the heat of the crisis when a friend told him that his brother in Spain could help him get a job in Europe since he was determined to leave the country. He was able to recover some of the money he paid to the visa agent and, with the help of his family members, he got a little above N200,000 for the journey.


Osita said from the Kano connecting house, they travelled all through the deserts of Zindern, Agadez, Douruku in Niger Republic and Tegery to Gatron and finally to Tehrinmata in Libya.


Throughout the journey, he said, scores of people were dropping dead from the ramshackle truck in which they were travelling in.


When they eventually ran out of water, they were forced to beg for urine from women they met and that of camel for survival.Nigerians stranded


According to him, many Nigerians are stranded in the desert because "once you get to Kano, you are stripped off all your money. I am alive today, because I refused to give them all my money when we got to Kano. Once they collect your money, you may end up stranded in the desert of Niger Republic without food or water. It was there I got the clue that it was pure business. There is no job anywhere."


Osita, who explained that the cartel has a very strong network along the desert routes, said that at each connecting border, there is a connecting house and inside it not less than 2,000 Nigerians had been left stranded. Asked to hazard a guess on the number of Nigerians in all the connecting houses, he said they may not be less than 50,000 excluding the numbers that die on daily basis.


Osita, claiming to have become inquisitive at one of the connecting houses at Agadez, a transit route, said many stranded Nigerians whom he spoke to told him they were stranded as their link-men abandoned them.


"We spent seven days in Agadez and many Nigerians stranded there had lost hopes of returning home. Many were dying on daily basis due to attacks by rebels. I was supposed to go to Morocco but we were told that rebels were killing a lot of people along the route; so we diverted to Libya."


On how he was able to keep his money, he said: "It was an experience I can never forget. I inserted my money into my anus and passed it out through faeces anytime I needed it".


He said the worst happened when the truck conveying them from Douruku to Libya got spoilt in the desert. According to him, they trekked day and night for four days before they got to a place called Tegery where he said 250 Nigerians had died due to lack of water.


"While on our way from Tegery to Gatron, we were attacked. We finally made it to Tripoli but I could not muster the courage to travel through the Mediterranean sea in a ramshackle boat to Europe. At this point, I spoke to four other Nigerians that we should return home and they agreed. I was able to pay their way to Kano where they put a call to their families."


Asked about the lesson learnt, he said human trafficking has devastating effects on the victim. "We drank our urine and that of a camel for survival while in the desert on our way to a non-existing Europe. Many of us who survived it were forced to do all kinds of menial jobs for survival".


Osita called on the Federal Government to check desert migration by young Nigerians even as he urged government to urgently commence the rehabilitation of the 1,750 returnees from Libya.


He hinted that the UK government was in the process of bringing back about 16,000 illegal Nigerian immigrants back to the country.


Vanguard


Related stories: Video - Documentary on human trafficking between Nigeria and Italy


Video - Part 2 of documentary on human trafficking between Nigeria and Italy


Nigeria is the largest African source of  trafficked women to Europe and Asia




Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Samson Siasia proud of Eagles defeat



Argentine players celebrating their goal


Samson Siasia says he is proud of his players despite a 3-1 loss to Argentina in a friendly match on Tuesday.


"We don’t want to give excuses, but the fact is that the boys were tired.

"We played against Madagascar on Sunday on a very bad pitch, then flew 14 hours to get here and played two days later. It was very difficult for some of the players, especially the ones who played 90 minutes in Madagascar.

"But it was a good game, and we tried our best but we lost."

Lionel Messi was the major inspiration, setting up two of the goals as the South Americans won a difficult contest and Siasia had nothing but praise for the two-time World Player of the Year, reports kickoffnigeria.com.

"He made the difference today. But we shut him down in the second half."

Argentina midfielder, Javier Mascherano agreed with the Nigeria coach about how hard the game was.

"It was a difficult game against a very strong team.

"The names today were different from the team at the World Cup and they made it hard for us." 


This Day


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Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Video - Argentina avenge 4-1 defeat against Nigeria



Argentina 3 – Nigeria 1 (International Friendly, September 6, 2011) The Bangladeshi crowd nervously waited to see if Lionel Messi would recover from a hard collision in the 20th, but they didn’t need to wait long as the Flea dusted himself down and fed a through-ball to Gonzalo Higuain minutes later as the Argentinians took the lead. Two minutes later it was 2-nil to the South Americans as a spellbinding run from Messi ended with Aiyenugba parrying the Barca forward’s shot, and Angel Di Maria was on hand to tuck in the rebound. A call to prayers bellowed throughout the stadium in the 37th minute. Nigeria bounced back immediately after the restart as Ogbuke Chinedu halved the deficit converting a left-wing cut-back, but an own goal from Elderson restored Argentina’s 2-goal cushion.


101greatgoals


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4 Nigerians escape death penalty in Malaysia

Like the biblical injunction which states that ‘the wages of sin is death’, in Malaysia, the punishment for trafficking in hard drugs is outright death by hanging; no appeal! Curiously, four Nigerians, Messrs Ugochukwu Emmanuel Innocent, Udeh Innocent Chukwuemeka, Olisa Kelvin Chukwuka and Mgbeajuo Alex Chigozie, perhaps, out of sheer greed or ignorance, would have increased the number of persons executed by hanging in the Asian country for allegedly trafficking in hard drugs. The suspects were rounded up at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos recently having been profiled to have ingested substances that tested positive for amphetamine weighing 5.715kgs.


Ugochukwu Emmanuel who travelled with a Nigerian passport bearing Gaye Jerry, 33, wanted to board an Ethiopian Airways flight when he was found to have concealed 600 grammes of Methamphetamine in the metal handle of his luggage while Udeh Innocent Chukwuemeka, 36, hid 2kgs of similar drug in a false compartment of his bag during the screening of Qatar Airways flight. Olisah Kelvin Chukwuka, 26, who was caught during the screening of passengers on an Egypt Air flight, ingested 1.300kg while Mgbeajuo Alex Chigozie, 31, who attempted to board an Emirate Airline, swallowed 1.815kg of Methamphetamine. All four suspects were destined for Malaysia.


Chairman of NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade while reacting to the degree of involvement of Nigerian youths in drug deals urged the youths to join the anti-drug campaigns and make the world a drug -free place. The drug czar said, “While we celebrate the prevention of these four suspects from premature death, members of the public, particularly the youths, must make frantic efforts individually to resist drug trafficking. Another worrisome dimension is the number of Nigerians like Gaye Jerry with foreign passports and hidden identities who are on death roll in other countries. Everybody must be actively involved in this campaign.”


Sources at NDLEA intimated Crime Alert that Gaye Jerry, a native of Imo State but resides in Lagos, concealed 600 grammes in the metal handle of his luggage. The bag contained foodstuff meant to distract attention, still the drug was discovered during routine search at the luggage check desk. Gaye, a trader who sells clothes, lived in Gambia between 2000 and 2004. Like Gaye, Udeh Innocent Chukwuemeka who is a student in Malaysia, concealed 2kgs of methamphetamine in his bag. Udeh is studying English at Edutran College at Kaula Lumpur, Malaysia.


During interrogation, he confessed that he took the risk to improve his financial status. “I got involved in drug trafficking because I need money. I am an English language student in Malaysia. After my primary school at Central School, Nnobi, I was admitted at Madonna Commercial School also in Nnobi but I stopped in class two due to lack of fund. I also worked as a commercial motorcyclist and taxi driver in Abia State before I travelled to Malaysia in search of greener pastures. I regret my involvement,” he lamented.


Other suspects included two street hawkers who claimed that they were recruited by drug barons to smuggle illicit drugs out of the country. Messrs Olisah Kelvin Chukwuka and Alex Mgbeajuo Chigozie who hawk ice cream and musical disc respectively in Lagos ingested 72 pieces of Methamphetamine. The suspects who hail from Ebonyi and Anambra states respectively said they got involved in the devilish business for financial gains.


Vanguard


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Argentina coach not thinking about revenge

Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella has dismissed talk of revenge when his side takes on Nigeria in a friendly in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka today.


Argentina lost 4-1 to Nigeria in Abuja in June when their former coach Sergio Batista fielded a very inexperienced side.


"I don't think about any revenge, it's no good for human beings, it's no good for anyone, we will try to win but I don't think we will go for revenge," Sabella told a news conference on Monday.


"It's different game because we came here with a stronger team, but we will see tomorrow," he said.


"I don't know what they kind of team they field tomorrow. They play yesterday (Sunday) against Madagascar." Sabella said referring to Nigeria's 2-0 win in an African Nations Cup qualifying match.


Hundreds of fans cheered the Argentina squad when they arrived at Dhaka airport from the Indian city of Kolkata where they defeated Venezuela 1-0 in a friendly on Friday.


Twice World Player of the Year Lionel Messi was the centre of attention and the prospect of watching the Barcelona forward sparked huge excitement in Bangladesh, a country ranked only 139th in the world but still very passionate about football.


Sabella handed Messi the captain's armband after replacing Batista as coach.


"I think there is a time when Argentina have been very strong going forward, the first thing I have to sort out is to achieve some balance between attack and defence," said Sabella.


"We must let him (Messi) be happy. We must let him be completely free on the pitch.


"There are different kind of captains, one for personality and another because they are great players.


Argentina, knocked out of the Copa America on home soil in July at the quarterfinal stage, needed a goal from defender Nikolas Otamendi to beat Venezuela in Sabella's first game in charge.


Daily Trust


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