The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), in collaboration with the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), has dismantled a transnational human trafficking syndicate operating across several Nigerian states.
The operation led to the arrest of three suspects and the rescue of 20 victims trafficked from Equatorial Guinea and Togo into Nigeria for labor exploitation.
This was revealed in a statement released on Friday by NAPTIP spokesperson Vincent Adekoye, who noted that the operation targeted criminal hideouts in the Federal Capital Territory, Osun, and Nasarawa States.
According to Adekoye, the arrests followed a directive by NAPTIP Director-General Hajia Binta Adamu-Bello to intensify surveillance along Nigeria’s border communities.
The suspects are believed to be part of an organized criminal network exploiting foreign nationals under the guise of offering lucrative jobs.
During interviews, the rescued victims recounted being lured into Nigeria with promises of well-paying employment, only to face various forms of labor exploitation.
Many of them had even begun processing documents for further travel to Europe before being trapped by the syndicate.
In a separate development, NAPTIP also rescued a Nigerian woman from Dakar, Senegal, in cooperation with the Nigerian Embassy.
The victim, a university graduate and mother of one, had been deceived with a job offer as a hair stylist but was later forced into prostitution.
Her trafficker, identified as ‘Madam Rose,’ reportedly confiscated her documents and left her stranded in a remote Senegalese village after she refused to comply.
“The victim was subjected to severe emotional and mental trauma and is currently receiving care,” Adekoye said.
NAPTIP Director-General Adamu-Bello described the operations as part of a wider crackdown on transnational trafficking rings turning Nigeria into a hub for human exploitation.
“This is only the beginning,” she said.
“We are committed to dismantling every network, rescuing every victim, and ensuring traffickers face the full weight of the law.”
She also thanked the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Maj.-Gen. Emmanuel Undiandeye, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Nigerian Embassy in Senegal, and immigration officers at the border for their roles in the successful operations.
So far, NAPTIP has rescued 21 victims from neighboring countries over the past week.