Naptip Raids Abuja Hotel, rescues seven girls to be trafficked to Iraq.
The victims were said to have been lured by invitations to hire, six of them from. Lagos, while one comes from the Delta.
In a successful operation, the State Agency for Banning Human Trafficking (NAPTIP) rescued seven women from a hotel in Zamaru near the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
According to Vincent Adekoye, chief press officer of NAPTIP, the women are allegedly preparing for trafficking in Baghdad, Iraq, under the guise of employment opportunities.
NAPTIP raided the hotel on reliable intelligence operators, which had long suspected that it was a crossing point for trafficking victims due to abnormal actions by girls around the agency. Fortunately, during the operation, the hotel manager was arrested and he is currently facing trial at the time of reporting.
The agency revealed that the operation was part of a repression efforts against human trafficking. In one report in the Nigerian Daily Report, six rescued women were recruited from the Lagos State and the other was recruited from the Delta State. They were allegedly deceived by unregistered labor recruiters who gave full care in Iraq and only faced potential exploitation upon arrival.
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In previous operations, the agency rescued more than 60 women specializing in trafficking abroad with deceptive work offers. The incident underlines the disturbing trend in the country as Naptip intercepted numerous individuals at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, who are on their way to the volatility zones in the Middle East.
NAPTIP Director General Binta Adamu Bello expressed deep concern about the participation of unethical service providers in promoting such illegal activities. She stressed that living is a crime under Nigerian law and warned the agency that it would prosecute the entity to find accomplices.
She, represented by Josiah Emerole, director of research and program development, urged parents and guardians to be alert to fraudulent work that could lead to exploitation. She further stressed that many victims arrived abroad and found themselves in an unstable situation with no legal protection, frequent abuse, wage withheld and possible death.
NAPTIP strengthens its commitment to the ongoing demolition of the country’s trafficking network as it will continue to rescue and support victims found in the network. The agency also called for public awareness and cooperation to effectively combat trafficking in the country.
