Human Trafficking: NAPTIP Rescues 25 Victims En-route Saudi-Arabia For Labour Exploitation

By Bukar BOLORI

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), in its ongoing crackdown on human trafficking syndicates have intercepted 25 women suspected to be victims of labour exploitation en route to Saudi Arabia.

The agency in a press statement on Monday by its press officer, Vincent Adekoye said the success was part of efforts aimed at disrupting organized trafficking activities of some criminally inclined agencies, that specialized in the recruitment and trafficking of Nigerians to some destination countries in the Middle East.

He noted that the development came just as the agency commenced a manhunt for owner and workers of a popular travel agency suspected of playing a prominent role in the recruitment of the victims.

He said the unsuspecting victims were picked up in front of a popular hotel in the highbrow area of Wuse II, Abuja, where they had gathered, awaiting their trafficker.

He added that the operation was a continuation of renewed surveillance activities and monitoring embarked upon by the agency targeting some black spots within several major state capitals across the country.

Adekoye recalled that the Director General of NAPTIP, Binta Bello had a few weeks ago, ordered operatives of the agency to intensify monitoring in some state capitals across Nigeria in response to the reported surge in the activities of some human trafficking who now recruit from some remote villages and communities for exploitation.

He noted that this directive was in addition to the enhanced working relationship and collaboration with other sister law enforcement agencies and partners along some of the red flag routes.

Adekoye revealed that during interrogation, the victims, whose ages range from 17 to 43 years, claimed that they were recruited from Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina states by some persons with a promise to travel to Saudi Arabia to take up a job as a domestic worker, specifically house help.

He quoted one of the victims to have said: “Some people came to our village and told my parent that they would assist me to travel abroad to work as a house help in Saudi Arabia. They assured us that the job there will pay us very well, and we will be able to come and take care of our parents and families.

“They asked us to come and wait for them here so that they will give us the travel document and the necessary instructions on how to go. They have not given us any documents, like an international passport and a visa, and we are worried that none of them is here to attend to us as they promised.”

He said a good number of the victims confessed that they were in Abuja for the first time, and they are stranded.

Speaking on the development, Director General of NAPTIP, Binta Bello, who frowned at the activities of the traffickers who have continued to feed on the vulnerability of victims in remote parts of the country, warned that some trafficking gangs now use Abuja as a centralized coordination point for trafficking.

She said: “I wish to alert our partners and stakeholders to the new modus operandi of a human trafficking syndicate that uses the Federal Capital Territory as a muster point for their nefarious activities. You will recall that a few months ago, some victims were intercepted and rescued from a hotel located close to the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, just as they were about to be trafficked to some destination countries in the Middle East.

“Now, we have intercepted another 25 women. The sad aspect of the whole thing is that they excitedly jumped at the offer from the traffickers without knowing the harrowing experience and the level of exploitation that awaits them in the destination country.

“Well, the good news is that we have successfully disrupted this trafficking process, and we are closing in on the agency whose name features prominently in the whole thing.

“Let me use this medium to call on the umbrella body of travel agencies, the Association of Recruiters, Licensed Placement Agency of Nigeria, and other regulatory bodies, to rise to their responsibility of regulating the activities of their members.”

She stated that: “The mindless exploitation of victims of human trafficking in those destination countries remains a source of serious concern to NAPTIP, so this scenario must stop.”