THE National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has arrested five suspected traffickers and rescued twenty-four in a special operation at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, October 1, NAPTIP’s National Press Officer, Vincent Adekoye, revealed that among those arrested at the airport was a retired senior officer from one of Nigeria’s leading law enforcement agencies, alleged to be a key member of a trafficking syndicate operating in the South West.
He said that the latest raid followed a tip-off from concerned stakeholders and partners who alerted to an influx of suspected human trafficking victims at the international airport, Abuja, and the unwholesome activities of some suspected traffickers.
Adekoye explained that the victims, aged between 15 and 26, were recruited from Kano, Katsina, Oyo, Ondo, and Rivers States, and were being trafficked to Iraq, Sudan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Afghanistan.
He noted that many of the victims could only speak their local dialects, while others did not know the countries they were being trafficked to.
According to Adekoye, one of the victims said the traffickers told her mother that they were taking her to Europe, where she would work and earn dollars, as he noted that her parents were happy and they allowed her to follow them.
He added that one of the victims pledged to pursue her father’s prosecution for deceiving her into making the journey, after the Director General personally counselled the victims and showed them video clips of stranded Nigerians and others on life support after suffering exploitation in destination countries.
The victim, whose father was among the traffickers arrested, said in her local dialect that her father only told her that his friend had a job for him at a supermarket in Baghdad.
Commenting on the development, NAPTIP Director General Binta Adamu Bello expressed concern over the actions of suspected human traffickers and unregistered labour recruiters who persist in deceiving, recruiting, and trafficking Nigerians for different forms of exploitation.
“I am impressed with the outcome of the operation today…We observed that the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport is becoming a comfort zone for these traffickers, and that is why we have decided to shift attention to this airport. We will sustain this raid until they stop this unpatriotic and illicit trade in human beings.
“I was amazed that a father, who is a retired Law Enforcement Officer of senior Cadre, deceived his daughter and packaged her to be trafficked to Iraq for exploitation. This is incredibly unbelievable. Well, all of them will be thoroughly investigated, and they will face the law,” Binta said.
Binta also appreciated the effort of the Airport Authority, the collaboration of the Department of State Service operatives at the Airport, the Airport Security Personnel, Immigration Officers, and airline operators for supporting NAPTIP in the success of the operation.
“Human trafficking is a visible national concern, and we all must be on the same page to turn the heat on the traffickers. Our resolve to ensure the protection of Nigerians from all forms of exploitation is firm and resolute”, Binta declared.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.