Seven suspected victims to be trafficked to Baghdad, Iraq have been rescued by operatives of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) during a raid at a popular hotel in Zamaru, near Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
The operatives also arrested the hotel manager.
The raid was prompted by credible intelligence from stakeholders who had observed unusual activity, including the movement of young girls and suspicious individuals within the hotel, raising concerns about potential human trafficking.
Saddened by the growing trend, Director General of NAPTIP, Binta Bello, lamented the role of certain service providers in facilitating the recruitment and trafficking of Nigerians, warning that the agency would invoke legal provisions to prosecute those involved in such activities.
Represented by the Director of Research and Programme Development of the agency, Josiah Emerole, Bello noted, “It is sad the way some service providers aid and abet the trafficking of Nigerians.”
She described the hotel as a hub for victims being trafficked to notorious destinations and stated that the agency is intensifying efforts to locate additional members of the trafficking network.
She stressed that harbouring suspected trafficking victims constitutes a violation of trafficking laws and assured that NAPTIP would take necessary legal actions against offenders.
NAPTIP has recently intercepted around 60 suspected victims of trafficking at the airport, en route to conflict-ridden countries in the Middle East.
Profiling of the rescued victims revealed that six were recruited under false pretences from Lagos, while one was from Delta State. They were promised caregiving jobs in Iraq, only to be exploited once they arrived.
One victim told NAPTIP, “They told me that I will do house help in Baghdad and I will receive a good salary every month.
“I believed them because I thought Baghdad was in another country.”
