The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) says it has rescued 71 victims and arrested three suspected human traffickers in Kano State.
Mr Shehu Umar, the Zonal Commander in charge of Kano Zone, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Friday in Kano.
Umar said that the NAPTIP Joint Board Task Force (JBTF) gathered intelligence on the movement of the victims and suspects.
“On receiving information, the agency conducted three operations between July 15 and 19, which led to the arrest of the suspects and rescue of the victims.
“We apprehended three suspects comprising one Nigerian and two Cameroonians who are between the age bracket of 21 and 36.
“The victims and suspects were apprehended en route Algeria, Morocco and Libya,” he said.
Umar explained that 18 out of the 71 rescued victims were Cameroonians, comprising 14 males and four females, while19 Nigerians consisted of 11 males and eight females.
He added that the Cameroonians would be handed over to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) for further investigations and repatriation. About 19 Nigerian rescued victims, aged between 15 and 28-years-old, hailed from Kano State.
The commander revealed that the agency had on July 19, received the transfer of 34 victims of human trafficking from the NIS, Katsina State Command, comprising 24 females and ten males.
“The victims think they can move out of the country freely without documents, without a clear understanding of what they are going to do outside the country.
“The traffickers promised greener pastures to deceive the victims,” he added.
The commander cautioned Nigerians against embarking on an overseas journey without specific reasons for doing so.
