TheCable

Basheer Garba-Mohammed, director-general of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), says 19 human trafficking victims have been rescued in Kano.

Garba-Mohammed, who was represented by Abdullahi Babake, NAPTIP Kano zonal commander, said four suspected human traffickers were also arrested by the agency.

“The agency received an intelligence report that the suspects harboured the victims in their house situated at Jigawa state before moving them in batches to Niger Republic,” he said.

“The victims were on transit from Ondo, Ekiti, Delta, Anambra, Edo, Osun, Kogi, Akwa Ibom, Kwara, Ogun and Lagos states en route Rivers, Oyo, Osun, Delta and Ogun states, then to Europe via Libya.

“On receiving the information, a special operation was coordinated by NAPTIP joint border taskforce in collaboration with Katsina state police command and the 19 victims were rescued on August 18.”

Garba-Mohammed said the agency also rescued five victims of child labour and arrested two suspects on August 11.

According to him, the victims are five females between the ages of 10 and 11.

He said the agency received information that the victims were in transit from Bareruwan Daji village in Katsina state en route Kaduna via Kano.

“On receiving the information, a special operation was coordinated by the agency and the victims were rescued and two female suspects were arrested,” he said.

He called on parents to protect their children from being exploited and lured into slavery in the name of seeking greener pastures.

“We will do all that we can to see that the menace of human trafficking and smuggling of migrants is brought to an end,” he added.

On August 9, the agency rescued 80 victims of human trafficking in the Niger Republic.