By Onyeanya Ebere Immaculata
Operatives of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), have rescued 25 women in Abuja from a suspected human trafficking attempt linked to labour exploitation in Saudi Arabia.
The victims, aged between 17 and 43, were intercepted in front of a popular hotel in Wuse II, where they had been gathered by their trafficker while awaiting onward movement.
Investigations revealed they were recruited from Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina States with promises of domestic jobs abroad but were left stranded in the capital without travel documents.
NAPTIP has launched a manhunt for a travel agency allegedly behind the recruitment.
The agency’s Director-General, Binta Adamu Bello, OON, condemned the use of Abuja as a coordination hub by trafficking syndicates and warned travel agencies against aiding the crime.
“This is part of an evolving strategy where victims are assembled in Abuja before being smuggled abroad.
“The good news is that we have successfully disrupted this operation, and we are closing in on the agency whose name has been linked to it,” Bello said.
She recalled a similar interception earlier this year near the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport and stressed the need to regulate recruitment agencies while urging the Association of Recruiters and Licensed Placement Agencies of Nigeria to sanction erring members.
The victims are currently in protective custody, receiving care and undergoing debriefing as investigations continue.
