…Agency arrests five suspects, rescues 24 victims
The Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Binta Adamu Bello, has raised an alarm that the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, is fast becoming a “comfort zone” for human traffickers.
Bello disclosed on Wednesday during a sting operation at the airport, which led to the arrest of five suspected traffickers and the rescue of 24 victims aged between 15 and 26. The victims, recruited from Kano, Katsina, Oyo, Ondo, and Rivers States, were reportedly en route to Iraq, Sudan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Afghanistan.
A statement issued in Abuja by NAPTIP spokesperson, Vincent Adekoye, revealed that among those arrested was a retired senior law enforcement officer alleged to be a key member of a trafficking syndicate operating in Nigeria’s South-West.
According to NAPTIP, the six-hour operation was triggered by a tip-off from concerned stakeholders who reported unusual movements at the airport. Some victims were unable to communicate in any language other than their local dialects, while others admitted they had no knowledge of the countries they were being taken to.
One of the victims, a teenage girl, recounted how her parents were misled into believing she was being taken to Europe to earn money. Another victim accused her father—who was among the suspects arrested—of deceiving her into believing she had secured a supermarket job in Baghdad. “I thank DG and her officers for rescuing me. I will certainly make it in Nigeria rather than suffer in another country,” she said.
Speaking after the operation, Bello expressed shock over the complicity of some parents and unregistered labour recruiters in the trafficking network. “I was amazed that a father, a retired senior law enforcement officer, deceived his daughter and packaged her to be trafficked to Iraq. This is incredibly unbelievable. They will all be thoroughly investigated and face the law,” she said.
The NAPTIP boss warned that traffickers were increasingly exploiting the Abuja airport as a transit point, stressing that raids would be sustained until the criminal networks were dismantled. She commended the support of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Department of State Services (DSS), airport security personnel, immigration officers, and airline operators in the operation.
“Human trafficking is a visible national concern, and we must all be on the same page to turn the heat on the traffickers. Our resolve to protect Nigerians from all forms of exploitation is firm and resolute,” she added.
, Binta Adamu Bello, ...){kind=link}