Operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have foiled a major human trafficking operation in Abuja, rescuing 14 young women and arresting two suspected members of a trafficking syndicate.
According to a statement by NSCDC spokesperson Afolabi Babawale, the Commandant-General’s Special Intelligence Squad acted on credible intelligence that the victims were being prepared for illegal transportation to Egypt and Israel.
The victims were reportedly lodged at Odogwu Guest House in Gbesa, Abuja Municipal Area Council, awaiting departure through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport. Acting swiftly, NSCDC operatives intercepted a Toyota Sienna bus en route to the airport, rescuing all 14 victims and arresting two Nigerian collaborators.
Babawale said preliminary investigations revealed the scale of the operation. The victims, aged between 19 and 47, included 11 Yoruba, one Igbo, one Igede and one Isoko woman. Thirteen of them were in possession of international passports and yellow cards but had no valid entry visas for the intended destinations.
The women, who identified themselves as fashion designers, makeup artists and hairdressers, said they were lured with promises of lucrative jobs abroad. They also confirmed that the arrested suspects were local collaborators working for principal traffickers based overseas.
The NSCDC spokesman said the suspects, crime scene and recovered exhibits had been handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for further investigation and prosecution.
He reaffirmed the Corps’ commitment to partnering with other security and anti-trafficking agencies to tackle human trafficking and called on the public to provide useful intelligence to support security operations.
