The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has arrested five suspected human traffickers at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. The operation, led by NAPTIP Director-General Binta Adamu Bello on Wednesday, also rescued 24 victims.
NAPTIP’s spokesman, Vincent Adekoye, said one of those arrested is a retired senior security officer, believed to be a key member of a trafficking syndicate in the South-West.
- Oil Workers’ Strike: Operator Maintains Grid Stability Amid Gas-fired Electricity Disruption
- CBN, OAGF Deny Release Of Withheld Osun LG Funds To APC Members
He explained that the operation was part of NAPTIP’s new anti-human trafficking campaign targeting recruitment centers, trafficking routes, and hotspots across the country. Bello also ordered stronger surveillance at motor parks, coastal waterways, and airports.
The raid followed a tip-off about the presence of suspected traffickers and victims at the Abuja airport. After nearly six hours, five suspects were arrested and 24 victims freed.
According to Adekoye, the victims are between 15 and 26 years old. They were recruited from Kano, Katsina, Oyo, Ondo, and Rivers States, and were being trafficked to Iraq, Sudan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Afghanistan.
Some of the victims did not even know where they were being taken. One said she was told she was going to Europe to earn dollars, and her parents agreed. Another victim, who realized her father tricked her into the journey, vowed to have him prosecuted.
The DG showed the victims videos of stranded Nigerians suffering abroad. One victim, visibly shaken, said: “I struggled to hold my emotions watching the video of those girls being beaten. If that is what awaits me there, I will not go. I am angry with my father for deceiving me.”
Bello condemned traffickers and illegal recruiters who continue to deceive and exploit Nigerians. She said she was pleased with the success of the operation, which disrupted a trafficking network sending people to dangerous countries in the Middle East for exploitation.