…Quizzes hotel manager habouring victims in Abuja hotel
By Dele Ogbodo
Operatives of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) have raided a popular hotel located at Zamaru, a few kilometers away from the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport Abuja (NAIAA).
The swift operation led to the rescue of 7 suspected victims who were being prepared to be trafficked to Baghdad, Iraq, for exploitation.
The raid which also led to the arrest of the manager of the hotel followed credible intelligence from concerned stakeholders who noticed the unusual movement of some young girls and strange-looking men within the flourishing hotel thereby indicating that the facilities are being used to habour victims of human trafficking.
Recalled that the agency had in the last few months intercepted no fewer than 60 suspected victims of human trafficking at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, on their way to some of the volatile and war-torn countries in the Middle-East.
A critical profiling of the recently rescued victims indicated that 6 of them were deceived and recruited from Lagos while 1 is from Delta State
As it was the case with other rescued victims in the past, the victims are deceived with a promise of a caregiving job in Iraq and are signed off into slavery by two sets of recruiters whose identities are not known to them.
One of the victims informed NAPTIP: “They told me that I will do a househelp in Baghdad and I will receive good salary every month.
“I believed them because I think say Baghdad is in another country. Them no tell me say I dey go work for Iraq.”
The victim recalled with tears as she narrated her ordeal in the hands of the recruiter.
Speaking on the development, the Director General of NAPTIP, Binta Adamu Bello, expressed displeasure over the roles of some unscrupulous service providers in the recruitment and trafficking of Nigerians for various forms of exploitation and warned that henceforth the agency shall invoke the relevant provisions of its law to prosecute erring entity/ies.
Press Officer at NAPTIP, Mr. Vincent Adekoye, informed journalists that the Director General was represented by Mr. Josiah Emerole, the Director, Research and Programme Development.
The DG stated further: “It is sad the way some of the service providers in the country, aid and abet the recruitment, transportation, transfers, and habouring of Nigerians who are victims of human trafficking.”
The hotel NAPTIP added is believed to be a muster point for victims of human trafficking to some of the notorious destination countries, adding that the Manager of the hotel is currently being quizzed.
“We have also intensified the manhunt for other members of the trafficking gang working in collaboration with other criminal elements in Iraq.
“The suspected victims are trafficked from different parts of the country and haboured in the hotel. They are further briefed on how to evade arrest at any point by disguising themselves in various forms and answering questions from Law enforcement Officers at the airport.
“Due to the unpatriotic roles of some of these service providers, the agency shall henceforth invoke the appropriate section of its Law to prosecute them. This is because harbouring suspected victims of human trafficking is also an offense in the Trafficking law.” the Director General said.
