The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has intercepted 25 women suspected to be victims of human trafficking and labour exploitation, who were being prepared for illegal migration to Saudi Arabia.
According to a statement released by the agency, the unsuspecting women were apprehended in front of a popular hotel in Wuse II, Abuja, where they had gathered, awaiting their traffickers.
The victims, aged between 17 and 43 years, had been recruited from Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina States with promises of lucrative jobs as domestic workers in the Middle East.
During interrogation, several of the women narrated how strangers approached their families in their villages, assuring them of opportunities to work as house helps in Saudi Arabia.
One of the victims said: “Some people came to our village and told my parents that they would help me travel abroad for work.
‘They promised that I would earn good money and be able to care for my family. They asked us to wait here for travel documents and instructions, but up until now, they have given us nothing—not even a passport or visa. None of them has shown up, and we are stranded.”
Many of the victims confessed that this was their first time in Abuja, leaving them disoriented and at the mercy of traffickers.
Reacting to the development, NAPTIP’s Director General, Binta Adamu Bello, expressed strong disapproval of the traffickers’ activities, stressing that criminal gangs now exploit the Federal Capital Territory as a central coordination point for their operations.
She stated: “I wish to alert our partners and stakeholders to the new tactics of human trafficking syndicates that use Abuja as a muster point for their illegal trade.
“A few months ago, we rescued another group of victims from a hotel close to the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, just as they were about to be flown to the Middle East. Now, we have intercepted yet another 25 women.”
DG Bello warned that traffickers prey on the vulnerability and ignorance of women in rural areas, luring them with false promises of prosperity, while in reality, they face exploitation and abuse abroad.
She assured Nigerians that NAPTIP had successfully disrupted this trafficking attempt and was closing in on those behind it.
She also called on travel regulatory bodies, including the Association of Recruiters, Licensed Placement Agencies of Nigeria, and other relevant stakeholders, to strengthen monitoring and ensure their members comply with ethical standards.
“The reckless exploitation of human trafficking victims in foreign countries is of grave concern to NAPTIP.
“This disturbing trend must stop, and we will continue to safeguard Nigerians from such criminal networks,” she added.