The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) said it has commenced a major onslaught against organised human traffcking criminal gang in the country as its operatives arrested Abuja-based suspected traffickers.
The agency described the suspects as the arrowhead of a trans-border human trafficking syndicate operating within the West African and Gulf of Guninea regions.
In a statement issued by its spokesman, Vincent Adekoye, on Thursday, NAPTIP identified the suspects as Emmanuel Uzor Igwe (32-year-old) and Ugochukwu Christian (30-year-old) as they were mentioned by some of the human trafficking victims who are presently stranded in Côte d’ d’Ivoire during their conversation with the popular human rights activist and social media influencer, Mr. Martins Vincent Otse, also known as the VeryDarkMan (VDM), thereby prompting his intervention and subsequent visit to the headquarters of NAPTIP in Abuja.
Adekoye said the suspects were arrested inside their sprawling mansion, located in one of the popular Estates in the Lugbe area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja. He said the tastefully funished mansion equipped with various devices also served as command base and residence for the gang.
During the operation led by the head of operations of the agency, which lasted several hours due to the high-tech facilities of the smart house that hinder free access, two victims of human trafficking were also rescued.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the victims were recruited by the suspects, subjected to an oath of secrecy already, and were undergoing marathonic sexual orientation from the suspects as they were stalked naked and in sexual romp when operatives burst into their rooms.
Speaking with the operatives after the rescue, one of the victims (name withheld) disclosed that they were recruited from one of the South-East States and were promised a highly paid job in a flourishing mall in Ivory Coast.
“They told me that the mall will be paying me in foreign currencies and that I will pay them back a total of 2.2 Million Cfas. They already took us to take an oath in one of the shrines located outside Abuja. I did not know, and I cannot recollect the location of the place. But, I know that we travelled for about three hours away from Gwagwalada to the shrine,” the visibly shaken victim recalled.
The arrest of the suspects followed an escalation of conversation and report from the NAPTIP Social Media platforms and subsequent credible intelligence shared by one of the partnering sister security agencies, indicating the location of the suspects.
Recall that VDM visited the headquarters of NAPTIP to express his concern over the plight of some victims of human trafficking in Côte d’Ivoire with a promise to join hands with the agency to rescue them and also create the desired awareness on the dangers of human trafficking.
Speaking on the arrest, the director-general of NAPTIP, Binta Adamu Bello, said the agency was poised to dismantle all human trafficking syndicates that are recruiting, trafficking, and subjecting Nigerians to various forms of exploitation anywhere around the world.
“The arrest of the two suspects is a component of our well-planned onslaught against human traffickers in the country. They are members of the trans-border criminal gangs operating within the West African region, and it is good that we can lay our hands on them.
“I recall that during the visit of VDM to the agency last week, we assured him that NAPTIP shall do the needful. We stand by our words, and in line with our mandates, we shall make it difficult for them to operate in Nigeria.
“We have also activated the necessary apparatus and initiated discussions with partner-states and non-state actors within the neighbouring countries and specifically in Côte d’Ivoire, towards rescuing the victims stranded there.
“I sincerely thank all our partners and stakeholders with specific reference to the VDM, for their support to the Agency. He visited the Agency last week, and from the discussion with him, he has a deep passion for the country. He has also demonstrated this with his support towards the evacuation of the victims.
“I wish to state that the game is over for human traffickers in Nigeria as NAPTIP is ready to choke them unless they desist from recruiting and trafficking of our Citizens,” Mrs Bello stated.
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