By Chioma Favour
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, has carried out a major operation at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, arresting five suspected human traffickers and rescuing 24 victims.
The raid, led personally by the Director General of NAPTIP, Binta Adamu Bello, caught many by surprise and was part of the agency’s renewed crackdown on human trafficking syndicates operating across Nigeria.
Among those arrested was a retired senior officer of a major law enforcement agency, alleged to be a key member of a trafficking network in the South West.
The victims, mostly young women between the ages of 15 and 26, were reportedly 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 revealed that they were deceived with promises of lucrative jobs abroad. One victim, who discovered her father’s involvement in the scheme, vowed to seek his prosecution after being shown video evidence of Nigerians stranded and abused in foreign countries.
Speaking after the operation, NAPTIP Director General, Binta Adamu Bello, expressed shock at the complicity of family members in the crime, including the retired officer who allegedly arranged his daughter’s trafficking to Iraq.
She vowed that NAPTIP will continue to tighten surveillance at airports, motor parks, and coastal routes, and warned traffickers that the agency will pursue them “wherever they are in Nigeria.”
Bello also commended the support of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, airport security personnel, the Department of State Services, Immigration officers, and airline operators who assisted in the operation.
The suspects are now in custody as investigations continue, while the rescued victims are receiving counseling and rehabilitation.
