A 42-year-old human trafficking suspect identified as Juliet Ukhurebor has confessed to making her victims swear an oath before travelling out of the country to deter them from disobeying her instructions.
Ukhurebor, who was arrested by officials of Edo State Taskforce on Human Trafficking alongside one Joy Osawe, made the confession before journalists in Benin City on Wednesday.
The suspect said, “I acted on the instructions of my India-based-daughter who requested a female nanny from Nigeria.
“My daughter asked them to take oath because she spent money on the would-be nannies travel documents, so that they would not get there and abscond, or refuse to pay her the expenses she incurred on their documents.”
Secretary of the taskforce, Mrs. Pauline Irusota said the suspects were apprehended following a petition by a 25-year-old Rita Godwin.
Irusota explained that the prime suspect, in collaboration with her daughter who is based in India, proceeded to forge Ghanaian passports and other documents for the victims for the purpose of smuggling them to India.
She added that the suspect indeed succeeded in smuggling one of the victims identified as Juliet Osagie to India.
The taskforce secretary added that the prime suspect only revealed to the victims after the oath, that they were heading to India for prostitution, adding that the petitioner on learning of the development, refused to embark on the final journey to Abuja, en route India.
“Following the refusal of the petitioner to travel to India, the prime suspect, and a native doctor from Enugu State began issuing threats to the petitioner that she pay N8 million, being the money used to process her traveling documents.
“The prime suspect was arrested at her shrine, and a native pot containing concoctions was recovered as exhibit at the request of the investigators,” she added.
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