President orders repatriation of stranded nationals

President Olusegun Obasanjo has ordered a special task force to ensure the immediate and unimpeded repatriation of Nigerians stranded in various countries, 'The Guardian' newspaper reported on Wednesday. "Most of them, described as victims of human trafficking, would be rehabilitated and reintegrated on their return," the Lagos newspaper reported. The government will also propose an effective legal framework to combat the menace, Minister of State of Justice Abdullahi Musa Elayo said at the inaugural meeting of the panel. The government would, he added, ensure that it extradited the "barons of human trafficking" to face the law and stiff sanctions. Obasanjo inaugurated the task force on 23 August when the coordinator of Women Trafficking and Child Labour Eradication Foundation, Titi Atiku Abubakar, wife of the vice president, returned with 33 victims of the illicit trade.