Operatives of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) have arrested three suspected members of inter–state human trafficking syndicates who specialized in the recruitment, harbouring and trafficking of young girls from other parts of the Country to the Northern Nigeria for sexual exploitation.
According to a statement by the press officer of NAPTIP, Vincent Adekoye, they were arrested inside one of the prominent hotels located in Katsina township (name withheld), with three suspected victims of human trafficking rescued during the operation.
He said the manager of the hotel and two other workers were arrested. Two of the victims are from Benue State and one from Rivers State, with their age ranges from 21 to 26 years old.
According to a preliminary investigation, the suspects were believed to be the major suppliers of victims to brothels and other notorious centres, including some neighbouring countries.
Adekoye recalled that the Director General of NAPTIP, Binta Adamu Bello, had directed operatives of the agency across the country a few weeks ago to step up surveillance and intelligence-gathering activities within their jurisdictions to address the reported cases of inter-state recruitment and trafficking.
She also directed the operatives to beam searchlights on the activities of some hotels, drinking joints, and motor parks in all the state capitals, to curtail the activities of some criminal elements who operate as members of human trafficking gangs in the country.
Adekoye said report says the rescued victims were found inside a small room located within the Hotel complex, while the traffickers were inside another well-furnished room within the same compound, relishing the proceeds of the exploitation.
Speaking after the operation, the victims claimed that they were deceived, recruited, and trafficked to Katsina with a promise of a legitimate job, only to be forced into prostitution against their will.
One of victim was quoted to have said: “I was brought here by a woman (name withheld). She promised to give us a job and that we would be paidvery well. I asked her the details of the job, but she said I will know the nature of the job when I get here. When we got here, she introduced us to prostitution, which was not part of what they told us before.
“We actually sleep with a lot of men, at least 20 men a day, and all the money we get goes to the chairlady of the place, by name Amarachi. We have no choice but to sleep with 20 men a day. Even when we are on our monthly period, we are being forced to sleep with the same number of men. Even when we are sick of tired, they will force us to sleep with me. They said it is not their business to know how we feel, but to engage in prostitution. They give us a fearless energy drink each to take every evening so that we can have energy to work, be awake to sleep with the men, and get money for them.
“They take all the money we make and leave us to feed ourselves”, the victim lamented with uncontrollabletears.
While thanking NAPTIP for coming to their rescue, the victims disclosed that the traffickers, in addition to crippling them financially so that they will not be able to escape, also paid some men to keep eye on them.
Speaking on the development, the Director General of NAPTIP, expressed worry over the activities of some hotels and centres across the Country that harbor victims of human trafficking, saying that the hotel in question shall be sanctioned in line with the provisions of the trafficking law.
She said: “I wish to commend the Operatives of NAPTIP in Katsina for the raid and rescue of the victims. Their stories are painful and sad. They were deceived, recruited, trafficked, and forced into prostitution. While they are facing horror every day from prostitution, their traffickers were somewhere within the same hotel,feeding fat on the proceeds of the exploitation.
“It is also important to reiterate our earlier warning about operators of hotels aiding and abetting the exploitation of victims of human trafficking in their facilities. We have commenced a legal process to determine the next execution order for the hotel. The law shall definitely take its course.”
