FROM JANUARY TO DATE, NO FEWER THAN 263 VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING HAVE BEEN RESCUED

Kano zonal commander, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP) has said that ''the command has been able to rescue no fewer than 263 victims of human trafficking from January to date.''


Mr Umar said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, stating that the latest rescue which raised the statistic to its present number was made on Saturday, October 8, when a total of 57 victims were intercepted in two different groups by men of the National Immigration Service in Katsina state, along the Kongolom border in Mai’adua Local Area on their way to Libya.

According to him, the traffickers escaped, but “all the victims are here now with us pending the completion of the investigation currently going on.” The zonal commander went ahead to state that the victims who had no traveling documents are aged between 12 ans 38, and according to investigations, they were paid between N5,000 to N250,000 to facilitate their voyage to their traffickers in Libya.

According to Umar, these victims who are from Abia, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Enugu, Imo, Kogi, Lagos and Ondo states, would be reunited with their families as soon as investigation was completed.

Meanwhile, figures show that out of the total 263 victims of human trafficking rescued this year, 173 are female while the other 90 are male.

Human trafficking has got to stop! 'If you see something, say something.'