THE National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) have busted a human trafficking syndicate and freed 20 victims.
The operatives also arrested three suspects during the raid.
A statement issued by NAPTIP spokesperson, Vincent Adekoye, in Abuja on Friday, June 13, said the 20 victims were trafficked from Equatorial Guinea and Togo to Nigeria for various forms of labour exploitation.
The operatives said the arrested suspects are believed to be members of an organised illicit network working in Nigeria.
Adekoye noted that the operation, which was carried out in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nasarawa, and Osun, targeted criminal cells and their bigwigs.
Adekoye added that the arrest of the suspects was a result of the directive by the Director-General of NAPTIP, Binta Adamu-Bello, to increase surveillance within border communities across the country.
He said the action was to halt the activities of some suspected crime syndicates who are believed to have entered Nigeria from particular African countries.
“NAPTIP has also strengthened collaboration with sister law enforcement agencies and partners to nip the unwholesome activities of the criminal gangs in the bud,” he stated.
Adekoye said the rescued victims confessed they were lured by the syndicate with promises of well-paying jobs in Nigeria.
According to him, the victims had documentation processed for travel, but instead of going to Europe, they were exploited for labour in Nigeria.
In a similar development, Adekoye said NAPTIP, in collaboration with the Nigerian Embassy in Senegal, rescued a Nigerian human trafficking victim from Dakar.
He said that the victim arrived at the NAPTIP Lagos command, Ikeja, after a close shave with death at the hands of traffickers in one of the remote villages of Senegal.
According to the NAPTIP spokesperson, the victim was lured to Senegal with promises of a job as a hairstylist and makeup artist, but discovered her employer, ‘Madam Rose’, was involved in child and sex trafficking.
She was subsequently forced into prostitution and when she refused to comply; he said her employer confiscated her identification documents and threw her out, leaving her unable to move freely or return home.
“She was left stranded somewhere in Kidira, Senegal. She reported that her trafficker is diabolical and has been tormenting her mentally and emotionally to the point where her sanity is at risk,” Adekoye said.
The NAPTIP D-G, Adamu-Bello, while speaking on the action, noted that the arrest of the traffickers and rescue of the victims was a consideration of a growing synergy between law enforcement agencies.
She said the operation was strategic and targeted at the transnational organised criminal elements that are now making Nigeria an attractive human trafficking destination.
“These operations will be a continuous exercise, and we are also focusing on other parts of the country to rid the nation of all activities of these criminal syndicates,” Adamu-Bello emphasised.
According to her, the total number of victims rescued and received from neighbouring countries by NAPTIP within the past week is now 21.
The ICIR reported in May that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) said it apprehended two suspected internationally wanted criminals involved in transnational crime operations.
The suspects, Felix Omoregie, alias ‘Eghosa Johnson Omoregie,’ and Okwudili Sabastine Ezeje, were arrested in separate operations across Nigeria in connection with human trafficking and armed robbery, respectively.
A statement by the NPF spokesman, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, on Wednesday, May 7, stated that Omoregie, who is a suspected ringleader of a human trafficking syndicate, was arrested in Benin City, Edo State, following a concerted intelligence operation.
A reporter with the ICIR
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