Nigerian woman put up for sale in Lebanon rescued
Screencapture of post advertising the sale of a Nigerian woman in Lebanon as a slave.
Originally published by BBC News
Ishaq Khalid
April 29, 2020
A Nigerian woman put up for sale on Facebook in Lebanon has been rescued — days after a man suspected of involvement in the advert was arrested.
The advert caused an outcry in Nigeria.
The chairperson of the Commission for Nigerians in the Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, told the BBC that the 30-year-old woman was now safe at the Nigerian embassy in Beirut after she was rescued by the Lebanese authorities.
Ms Dabiri-Erewa did not give details about how the woman was rescued but said the lockdown imposed by the Lebanese authorities to fight the coronavirus pandemic helped in tracing her.
A man was arrested last week for allegedly putting the domestic worker for sale for $1,000 (£807) on Facebook.
A screen grab of the advert was shared online:
Screencapture of post advertising the sale of a Nigerian woman in Lebanon as a slave.
A passport photo of the woman was included in the advert which caused widespread social media condemnation.
The UN says thousands of women and girls from Nigeria and other African countries are being trafficked every year — often lured with false job promises in Europe and Asia — but usually end up being exploited as domestic maids or forced into prostitution.
Last year, an undercover BBC News Arabic investigation in Kuwait found that domestic workers were being illegally bought and sold online in a booming black market.