The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has detained a suspected human trafficker who intended to transport two minor girls to the Niger Republic.
At the service’s Ilela border command in Sokoto State, an arrest was made.
The Explainer learned that the suspect, Rukayya Hassan, from Sokoto’s Giribshi district, confessed after questioning that she didn’t know the two young girls she was traveling to Niger with.
The victims have been transferred to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Human Trafficking for additional investigation, according to a statement made public on Tuesday in Abuja by Mohammed Abdullahi, the NIS Public Relations Officer.
He said that the move was a prompt reaction to a request for morale-boosting from Mrs. Kemi Nandap, the new Comptroller of Immigration.
“She claimed they were handed over to her by one woman in Sokoto, named Maman Adnan, who paid for their transport to Niger.
“She also claimed the woman requested her to help take the two girls to another woman in Niger, named Amina Yunusa, who will give them jobs in her restaurant in Niamey,” Abdullahi said.
According to them “they were going to Niger to resume work in a certain restaurant which they didn’t know the owner, but their parents approved the trip.”
He added that the two teenagers, Nabila Ibrahim (17) and her sister Zainab (15), claimed to be from Zuru LGA in Kebbi State after more investigation.
They claimed that their parents had given their permission to travel to Niger, where they planned to continue employment at a restaurant the owner of which they were unaware of.
In response, Tony Akuneme, the Comptroller of the NIS, Ilela Command, who oversaw the interviews, asked the Sokoto State NAPTIP to seize the two victims as well as the alleged trafficker.
He asserted that this would help with follow-up investigations and any legal action.
In order to reinforce the efforts of the CG, Akuneme emphasized his dedication to carrying on the fight against human trafficking and migrant smuggling.
According to Akuneme, the Immigration CG praised the men and officers of the Ilela border command for their work and pledged to reward exceptional employees.
Nigeria’s economic woes lead to surge in child labour, trafficking
Amidst the declining economy, particularly during the military regime’s misrule in Nigeria, there has been an unparalleled surge in the use of minors for labor.
The trafficking trade has been a major source of funding for the labor economy, especially the informal sector, including poverty and the associated effects of it have been identified as contributing reasons to the reenactment of this contemporary type of slavery.
The native currency’s depreciation has increased the appeal of obtaining foreign exchange.
A major factor in the growth of the illicit trafficking industry has also been the widespread greed for wealth, the collapse of family values, and the absence of parental supervision.
