The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has warned that human traffickers would “smell hell’’ in the year 2020.
Mrs. Julie Okah-Donli, the Director-General of NAPTIP, read the riot act on Thursday, following the rescue of Miss Omolola Ajayi, the Nigerian woman trafficked to Lebanon.
Omolola, who was subjected to inhuman treatment in Lebanon by her masters, is now in the hands of the Nigerian ambassador in Beirut and expected back home soon.
Ajayi had cried out for help in a video, which had gone viral, claiming that she was sold into slavery in Lebanon.
The NAPTIP boss, who also warned foreign nationals and other professionals in Nigeria, who are aiding trafficking in the name of recruitment abroad, stressed that all those involved should desist from the act.
According to her, the role of those aiding the nefarious activities is a direct sabotage to the efforts of Federal Government toward stopping the menace.
“The conduct of some bodies who play prominent roles in trafficking Nigerians to volatile countries for sexual exploitation is highly
Unpatriotic,” she said.
She added that NAPTIP was planning to push for a national policy against the recruitment of Nigerians to some of the noxious continents.
According to the director general, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) command in Kwara state arrested three suspects in connection with the recruitment and trafficking of the rescued girl to Lebanon through inter-agency collaboration.
She explained that “upon receipt of the information, which went viral on social media platforms, the Intelligence and International Cooperation Unit (IICU) of NAPTIP swung into action.
“This was in collaboration with officers of the NSCDC in Kwara state and arrested the suspects in Ilorin.
“Those arrested included a Lebanese and two Nigerians, with one as a lawyer.
“Upon further investigation, it was gathered that the victim, a 23-year-old single mother, was deceived to believe that she was being recruited to Lebanon to teach English language in one of the schools.
“She was deceived that she would earn huge amount of money monthly that would be enough to take care of her child that she left in Nigeria.
“It is important at this point to say that NAPTIP exercised serious caution in the rescue process because the traffickers, who were not ready to let her go, threatened to amputate her hands should anyone contact her,’’ she said.
MM/GIK/APA