Air Peace Limited has successfully carried out a humanitarian mission to repatriate 78 Nigerian women trafficked to Côte d’Ivoire under the false pretense of overseas employment.
The airline deployed a Boeing 737 aircraft (registration 5N-BQV), which departed from Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on Saturday, landed at Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport in Abidjan, and returned to Nigeria with the repatriates the same day—completely free of charge.
Receiving the returnees in Lagos, Air Peace Chairman Allen Onyema expressed gratitude for their safe return and assured them of the Federal Government’s full support.
“President Bola Tinubu is happy that you are back home safely,” Onyema said, adding that government officials were on hand to welcome and assist them. “You have nothing to fear. You are not criminals—you are Nigerians who were deceived.”
In a video posted on the airline’s Facebook page, Onyema offered heartfelt encouragement: “We are deeply sorry that some people took advantage of you. You don’t deserve to be deceived. You are valuable human beings, capable of achieving great things.”
He urged the women to believe in themselves and reject shame or stigma. “Among you could be a future governor, a president—don’t look down on yourselves. We don’t need to take the wrong path to succeed. You don’t need to sell your body to become someone important.”
He emphasized the mission’s goal of restoring the dignity of the repatriates. “These women have been through unimaginable hardship. It is not enough to bring them home—they must be treated with care, compassion, and respect.”
Onyema also announced that all 78 repatriates would receive comprehensive medical care, free of charge, at Duchess Hospital.
This mission adds to Air Peace’s growing record of humanitarian efforts. In 2019, the airline evacuated 503 Nigerians from xenophobic violence in South Africa. In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it repatriated stranded Nigerians from various continents. In 2022, the airline evacuated citizens from Ukraine during the war with Russia, and in May 2023, it rescued 277 Nigerians fleeing conflict in Sudan.
