The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has rescued 25 women suspected to be victims of labour exploitation while being trafficked to Saudi Arabia. The rescue followed a decisive crackdown on human trafficking syndicates operating across Nigeria.
According to Mediaplusng.com, the victims, aged between 17 and 43 years, were intercepted in front of a hotel in Wuse II, Abuja, where they had gathered while waiting for their traffickers. NAPTIP operatives revealed that the women had been recruited from Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina States with false promises of lucrative domestic jobs abroad.
The development comes as NAPTIP launches a manhunt for a popular travel agency believed to be at the centre of the recruitment process. Many of the victims told investigators that they had never been to Abuja before and were left stranded after their supposed recruiters failed to provide travel documents such as international passports and visas.
Mediaplusng.com reports that the Director General of NAPTIP, Binta Adamu Bello, OON, condemned the activities of traffickers exploiting vulnerable Nigerians. She revealed that Abuja is increasingly being used as a coordination hub for human trafficking, with hotels near key routes, including the airport, serving as muster points for victims.
Bello warned:
> “We have intercepted another 25 women. Sadly, many of them jumped at the traffickers’ offers without knowing the exploitation awaiting them in those countries. We are closing in on the agency linked to this operation.”
In a statement by NAPTIP’s Press Officer, Vincent Adekoye, the DG called on the umbrella body of travel agencies, the Association of Recruiters and Licensed Placement Agency of Nigeria, to regulate its members and stop aiding trafficking networks.
NAPTIP also reaffirmed its collaboration with other law enforcement agencies and international partners to dismantle trafficking routes and protect vulnerable Nigerians from exploitation in the Middle East and beyond.
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