DIA, NAPTIP Bust Transborder Trafficking Syndicate, Rescue 21 Victims
In a coordinated intelligence-led operation, the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) have dismantled a notorious transnational human trafficking syndicate operating within Nigeria and neighbouring West African countries, rescuing 21 victims.
The high-stakes mission, backed by strategic surveillance and inter-agency collaboration, led to the arrest of three key suspects and the rescue of 20 trafficked persons who were ferried from Equatorial Guinea and Togo into Nigeria for forced labour and exploitation.
According to a statement by NAPTIP’s spokesman, Vincent Adekoye, the arrests were carried out in the Federal Capital Territory, Osun, and Nasarawa states, following a directive by NAPTIP Director-General, Hajiya Binta Bello. The operation was aimed at crippling organised criminal networks exploiting Nigeria’s porous borders to traffick victims for forced labour and sexual exploitation.
The DIA played a central role in intelligence gathering and operational support, working under the broader security synergy championed by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
Adekoye noted that the victims were lured under false pretenses of lucrative job opportunities in Nigeria and onward migration to Europe. However, they were subjected to inhumane conditions and various forms of exploitation upon arrival. “The agency had to intensify surveillance across border communities and scale up inter-agency collaboration to track and apprehend members of these syndicates,” he said.
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In a related operation, NAPTIP, working closely with the Nigerian Embassy in Senegal, rescued a Nigerian woman trafficked to Dakar under the guise of a hairstyling job. A graduate and mother of one, she narrowly escaped death in a remote village where she had been forced into prostitution by her trafficker, identified only as ‘Madam Rose’.
The victim was stripped of her travel documents, abandoned, and left mentally distressed in Kidira, Senegal. After a distress petition from a family member, NAPTIP liaised with Nigerian authorities in Dakar to secure her rescue and return. She is currently receiving care and support from NAPTIP’s Lagos Command.
Director-General Binta Bello described the operations as “strategic and targeted,” affirming that Nigeria has become a focus for traffickers operating transnational criminal schemes. “This is just the beginning of a sustained crackdown on these syndicates. We are determined to rid the country of their operations and ensure justice for victims,” she stated.
She commended the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major General Emmanuel Undiandeye, for his unwavering support, and expressed gratitude to ONSA, the Nigerian Immigration Service, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whose personnel provided critical support at key stages of the operation.
“The rescued woman from Senegal is extremely traumatised but lucky to be alive,” Bello revealed. “We’ve launched a manhunt for her trafficker and are cooperating with Senegalese law enforcement to ensure her swift arrest and prosecution.”
With the latest operations, the total number of victims rescued by NAPTIP from neighbouring countries within the past week stands at 21.
Bello reiterated NAPTIP’s commitment to relentless operations across Nigeria and West Africa, warning traffickers that “their days are numbered.”
By PRNigeria
