Story from Kenneth AFOR, Lagos
About 52 young Nigerians bound to be trafficked to Europe were recently rescued in Kano State by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).
Also, four suspected human traffickers have been arrested by the state Zonal Command and the Joint Border Task Force officers.
READ ALSO: Human Trafficking: NAPTIP rescues Kano lad, arrests culprits
NAPTIP Director-General, Mrs Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, who was represented by the agency’s Kano Zonal Commander, Mr Abdullahi Babale disclosed this while briefing newsmen on Monday in the state that 48 of the rescued victims were females while four were males, aged between 16 and 34.
The DG added that 17 of the victims were rescued by Immigration officials in Jigawa and Katsina states.
She further said that three of the four suspected traffickers were males while the other is a female.
“The agency received intelligence report that the victims are on transit from Delta, Imo, Edo, Ogun, Oyo and Ondo States en route to Europe via Libya.
“On receiving the information, a special operation was coordinated in Kano, Katsina and Jigawa States to rescue the victims.
“The operation is still ongoing to arrest other suspects and to rescue more than 100 victims,” she said.
According to her, human trafficking is modern-day slavery, which involved the exploitation of victims.
Ibrahim reiterated that the agency is committed to the fight against human trafficking as well as rehabilitating and empowering survivors.
She pledged that the agency would make it difficult for human traffickers and their agents to succeed in their evil operations.
The DG commended the Nigerian Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) and the security agencies, the Nigeria Immigration Service, for their support to the agency.
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