Josiebeth Foroozan, the Filipinas businesswoman reported kidnapped in Nigeria only to be later confirmed to have returned to the Philippines could face charges for causing �embarrassment to the country,� the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tuesday.
At the same time Foreign Affairs undersecretary Esteban Conejos disclosed that Foroozan has phoned her Iranian husband, who is still in Nigeria, to tell him that she was back in the Philippines, quoting a report to the home office from Philippine Ambassador to Nigeria Masaranga Umpa.
Gonejos told INQUIRER.net he is going to ask the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to get to the bottom of the Foroozan case so the appropriate charges may be filed against her for the hoax, which has caused the government but political resources.
�We spent government resources to try and find out what really happened to her. I was sent by the President [Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo] to Nigeria to personally look into her case, the case of Helera, and the 24 Filipino seamen,� he said, referring to engineer Winston Helera and the crew of a cargo ship, who were seized separately and have since been released by their kidnappers.
�We coordinated with the Nigerian authorities and really pushed them to produce results,� he added, calling the Foroozan case an embarrassment to the country.
The Filipino seamen were kidnapped in late January, Helera about a week later, a day before Foroozan�s supposed abduction early last month.
It was the Filipina�s Iranian husband who brought the case of his wife to the attention of the Philippine embassy in Nigeria after she sent him a text message about posed abduction.
However, while announcing Helera�s release, Conejos also disclosed that Foroozan had not been kidnapped but had, in fact, arrived in the country on February 10, a mere three days after her supposed abduction.
Conejos said on the day of her supposed kidnapping, Foroozan had flown out of Lagos Nigeria to Frankfurt, Germany and, from there, to Manila where her arrival was recorded by the immigration bureau.
Foroozan’s relatives here, who had earlier criticized the department for not working hard enough for her release, have admitted she has still not been in touch with them but that they respect her decision.