NAPTIP Rescues 25 Women From Trafficking Syndicate in Abuja

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has rescued 25 women from a suspected human trafficking syndicate in Abuja.

The victims, aged between 17 and 43, were intercepted on Monday by NAPTIP operatives in front of a popular hotel in Wuse II, where they had gathered to meet their trafficker.

According to a statement signed by the agency’s press officer, Vincent Adekoye, the women were recruited from Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina States under the guise of securing them jobs as domestic workers in Saudi Arabia.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the syndicate had lured the women with promises of better opportunities abroad, but the real intention was to exploit them for forced labour.

One of the victims recounted her experience: “Some people came to our village and told my parent that they would assist me to travel abroad to work as a house help in Saudi Arabia.”

NAPTIP noted that the operation was part of its intensified crackdown on human trafficking rings that prey on vulnerable Nigerians, especially women and girls.

The rescued victims are currently receiving counselling and rehabilitation support at the agency’s shelter.

The agency further warned Nigerians against falling victim to fraudulent offers of foreign jobs, stressing that traffickers often disguise exploitation as legitimate opportunities.