The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), according to Binta Bello, the agency’s director general, has detained five suspected traffickers and rescued 24 human trafficking victims.
The feat was accomplished when it led a high-powered special operation at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, according to a statement released by NAPTIP’s national press officer, Vincent Adekoye, on Wednesday.
A retired senior uniform officer with one of Nigeria’s top law enforcement organizations, who was allegedly a prominent member of the trafficking syndicate operating in the South West region, was one of the suspect human traffickers detained at the airport, according to the statement.
The Director General’s recent anti-human trafficking efforts and attack onslaught against human trafficking, which targeted recruitment centers, trafficking spots, and routes within Nigeria, were described by the organization as a continuation of the development.
In response to the increased reports of Nigerians being recruited and exploited both domestically and abroad, Bello had ordered a few months ago to increase surveillance and monitoring of all areas of the nation, with particular attention given to motor parks, waterways in the coastal states, and international airports.
Following a tip-off from concerned stakeholders and partners, who received information about the influx of suspected human trafficking victims at Abuja’s international airport and the unhygienic practices of some suspected traffickers.
NAPTIP claimed that the human trafficking activities had been “completely disrupted” after almost six hours of operation.
The victims were traveling to Iraq, Sudan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Afghanistan when they were recruited from Kano, Kastina, Oyo, Ondo, and Rivers States, where they were between the ages of 15 and 26.
Some of the victims were said to be unaware of the location of their intended country of destination, despite the fact that many of them could not communicate in any other language besides their dialect.
They informed my mother that I would be traveling to Europe to work and make money. One of their parents commented, “My parents were happy and they gave me permission to follow them.”
One of the victims, who had promised to bring her father’s falsehood charges against her, staged yet another mild drama at NAPTIP’s headquarters. After the Director General had personally given the victims a series of video clips of some stranded Nigerians and those who were being abused at the destination countries, he had offered them some insight.
While watching the video of those girls who were being abused and beaten by the traffickers, the victim said, “I struggled to hold my emotions.” I won’t go if that’s what awaits me there. Because my father deceived me, I’m really angry with him. My father informed me that his friend works for me at a Baghdad supermarket. It is in Iraq, he didn’t tell me. I am aware that Iraq is currently a bad place to work because of the Iraqi crisis, but I am unaware that Baghdad is there. I appreciate DG and her officers’ rescue, but I still need my passport and want to return to my hometown. The victim, whose father was one of the traffickers arrested, gave in her native dialect as she pleaded for help. “I will definitely make it here rather than suffer in another country,” she said.
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The Director General of NAPTIP, Binta Adamu Bello, who spoke about the development, expressed concern over the continued deception, recruitment, and exploitation of Nigerians through various forms of exploitation.
We were able to detain five suspected members of the trafficking gang, who had been recruiting and facilitating human trafficking to various tension-strengthening nations, particularly in the Middle East, for exploitation, today, which impressed me with the outcome of the operation.
We have decided to turn our attention to the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport because we have observed that these traffickers are finding it difficult to leave their homes. We will continue this raid until this illegal and unpatriotic activity is stopped.
“It shocked me that a father, a retired law enforcement officer in the senior cadre, defrauded his daughter and sold her out in Iraq for exploitation,” he said. This is incredibly unbelievable. All of them will face the law and be thoroughly investigated.
I sincerely thank and appreciate the support of the NAPTIP Director General, the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport Manager, and all the wonderful staff members of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria. I appreciate the assistance of the airport security personnel, immigration officers, airport security personnel, and airline operators.
Source: Channels TV
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