In a major breakthrough against transnational organized crime, operatives of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), in collaboration with the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), have dismantled a cross-border human trafficking network operating in Nigeria. The operation led to the rescue of 20 foreign victims and the arrest of three suspects believed to be key members of the syndicate.
The coordinated operation, which took place across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Osun, and Nasarawa States, targeted trafficking cells believed to be harboring victims trafficked from Equatorial Guinea and Togo into Nigeria for forced labour and other forms of exploitation.
According to a statement released by Vincent Adekoye, Press Officer at NAPTIP, the raid was part of the agency’s intensified efforts to track and neutralize criminal trafficking syndicates infiltrating Nigeria through its porous borders. This directive was given by the Director General of NAPTIP, Binta Adamu Bello, OON, following reports of increasing transborder trafficking activities in the West African subregion.
In the course of interrogation, the victims revealed that they had been deceived with promises of high-paying jobs in Nigeria and onward travel to Europe. However, upon arrival in Nigeria, they were subjected to harsh working conditions and denied freedom of movement and communication. Their travel documents were also confiscated by the traffickers.
In a related development, NAPTIP, in collaboration with the Nigerian Embassy in Senegal, successfully rescued a Nigerian victim of human trafficking from Kidira, a remote village in Senegal. The victim, a university graduate and single mother, was lured with the promise of employment as a hair stylist and makeup artist but was later forced into prostitution by her trafficker, identified as “Madam Rose.”
She reportedly faced severe psychological and emotional abuse, and after refusing to comply with the trafficker’s demands, she was abandoned and left without identification or shelter. Her relative, in a distressed petition to NAPTIP, described her situation as dire, fearing for her life and mental well-being.
NAPTIP acted swiftly, contacted the Nigerian Embassy in Dakar, which provided temporary accommodation, feeding, and assisted with travel documents. The victim arrived safely at NAPTIP’s Lagos Command in Ikeja and is currently receiving trauma counseling and rehabilitation services.
Director General Binta Adamu Bello described the successful operations as a testament to the strengthened synergy between NAPTIP and other law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
“These operations were strategic and specifically aimed at dismantling organized trafficking rings that are now using Nigeria as a hub for their illicit trade,We are intensifying our surveillance and enforcement actions across other parts of the country to completely flush out these criminal syndicates.”she said.
Bello expressed gratitude to the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major General Emmanuel Undiandeye, for his unwavering support, and acknowledged the vital roles played by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the Nigerian Immigration Service, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The case of the rescued victim from Senegal is particularly heartbreaking,” she said. “She is lucky to be alive and must now begin the journey to recovery. We are working with law enforcement in Senegal to apprehend her trafficker, Madam Rose, and bring her to justice.”
She also commended the staff of the Nigerian Embassy in Dakar for their swift response and compassion in facilitating the victim’s rescue, including procurement of her emergency travel certificate.
This brings the total number of trafficking victims rescued by NAPTIP from neighboring countries in the past week to 21.
The Agency reiterated its commitment to ongoing rescue efforts, victim rehabilitation, and prosecution of traffickers.
