NAPTIP intercepts 13 girls being trafficked to Iraq, seals Abuja hotel

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons on Tuesday sealed a popular three-star hotel located at the Kwali community in Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

It also rescued 11 underage girls suspected of being used for sexual exploitation.

NAPTIP’s National Press Officer, Vincent Adekoye, disclosed this in a statement titled ‘NAPTIP scuttles trafficking of recruited Nigerians to Iraq; intercepts 13 victims at NAIA, Abuja.’

The agency said the hotel’s owner “was arrested while other supporting staff escaped.”

The development came barely one month after operatives of NAPTIP burst into a private apartment at a high-end estate in Abuja and rescued non-pregnant girls suspected to be victims of human trafficking.

The agency also intercepted 13 girls suspected to be victims of human trafficking en route to Baghdad, Iraq for sexual and labour exploitation.

The girls whose ages range between 19 and 39 were allegedly deceived and recruited by some faceless unregistered labour recruiters who are suspected to be agents of a more prominent criminal labour recruiting gang operating between Nigeria and some Middle East Countries.

They were intercepted at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, shortly before departing for Iraq.

The interception of the Iraq-bound girls followed a tip-off by some concerned partners who noticed the unusual movement of some unknown faces at the departure lounge of the Airport in the company of some timidly looking girls all chorusing the same answer to different questions about their destination, and immediately alerted the agency.

Speaking on the incident, the Director General of NAPTIP, Binta Bello, who witnessed the interception of the first batch of five girls at the airport on her way out of Abuja for an official duty to Adamawa, expressed displeasure over the level of deceit by the traffickers.

She called on parents and guardians to always be careful of fake promises for their children and wards.

Bello said, “I wish to point out that our action is in line with the provision of the Trafficking in Persons (Control of Activities of Organisations and Centres) Regulations 2019, which empowers NAPTIP to issue clearance certificates to all travel agents or tour operators and intending travellers for the purpose of Educational excursions, Recruitment for Labour, Sporting activities, Cultural, music excursions or competitions as well as all organisations, shelters, and homes offering services for the purpose of rehabilitation of trafficked persons.

“The case at hand is pathetic because these girls were deceived and recruited for a supposed job in Baghdad by unlicensed labour recruiters who are not known to any constituted authority in Nigeria.”

She added, “This implies that should anything happen to these girls; we will not be able to hold anyone responsible because they are undocumented labourers.

“Also, they were issued 60-day visa and yet signed a labour agreement of 2 years with them. The implication is that as soon as the visa expires, they are at the mercy of the master and lose all legal rights to demand anything, including their legitimate salary.”

The Director General expressed concern over the exploitation of victims trafficked to Iraq for domestic work.

According to investigations, the girls were promised a monthly salary of $250, but were required to remit four months’ pay to an agent in Nigeria and another amount to an agent in Iraq.

However, testimonies from several victims revealed that they were often not paid regularly, receiving wages for only four to five months out of their two-year contract.

A major issue they faced was resistance or outright refusal from their employers whenever they demanded their salaries.

“It is painful that while unspecified numbers of victims are in those volatile and war-torn destination countries seeking help to be rescued, these are happily embarking on a journey to the unknown.

“We are seriously worried about the situation because some who were rescued recently came home with life-threatening medical conditions while others escaped with a life-threatening wound and everlasting scars inflicted on them by their masters,” she said.

Expressing NAPTIP’s determination to prevent more individuals from falling victim, Bello emphasised the agency’s commitment to identifying and bringing to justice the unregistered recruiters responsible for the trafficking network.

She acknowledged the support of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport management, its security personnel, airline officials, and other law enforcement agencies in tackling the issue.

The DG also called for continued collaboration to protect young women from being deceived by traffickers.