The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) on Saturday admonished Nigerians, who want good future for the country, to join hands in the fight against human trafficking.
The Director in charge of Training and Manpower Development in NAPTIP, Mr Arinze Orakwe, made the appeal while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
He described as worrisome, the increasing number of Nigerians trafficked by trafficking cartels locally and across the globe.
” It is more worrisome the rate under-aged Nigerians are being trafficked within the country into brothel,” he said.
Osakwe said as at May 2023, the anti-human trafficking agency had rescued and sheltered about 13,026 females, 4,727 males and 8, 935 children from the trafficking syndicates.
He said the most pathetic of the situation was that many of the trafficked persons’ organs had been tampered with.
“The victims were usually served drinks laced with drugs before organ harvesters took advantage of them as most of the victims only knew after being rescued,” he said .
He pleaded with parents to monitor their wards round-the- clock to ensure they did not fall prey to those syndicates.
He urged parents and guardians to ensure their wards travel out of the country through safe migration pathways.
He further urged stakeholders in the fight against the menace to report brothels that engaged underaged Nigerians to the police or the agency .
According to him, NAPTIP had shut down many brothels across the country, especially the ones that engaged the services of under-aged Nigerians.
” The agency pleaded with well – meaning stakeholders in progress not to hesitate in updating the agency on the activities of the syndicates.
Police neutralise kidnap suspect in Warri
The Delta State Police Command has neutralised a suspected kidnapper and armed robber in Warri.
The command’s Spokesman, DSP Bright Edafe, made the disclosure on Sunday in Warri.
Edafe said that the deceased was a member of a kidnapping/armed robbery gang terrorising residents of Warri and the environs.
He said that the suspect was neutralised on Friday by the police operatives attached to the “A Division”, Warri while attempting to escape.
Edafe said that the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), CSP Tanko Mahmud, acted on credible information about the suspect and led the operatives to the criminal gang’s hideout.
“The operatives stormed the hideout of the criminal gang, located at the Stadium Road, Warri, where they arrested a 58-year-old suspect and recovered one AK-47 rifle and three magazines.
“Upon interrogation, the suspect confessed to being a member and armourer of the dreaded “Bobone” armed robbery gang terrorising Warri and the environs.
“The suspect gave the police additional information on the location of the other members of the gang and later led the police to their hideout on Chevron Road,” he said.
Edafe said that the hoodlums, upon sighting the police team, shot sporadically at them, adding that the deceased was maimed on his leg while attempting to escape from the scene.
He said that the suspect died while receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital, with other members of the gang escaping with varying degrees of bullet wounds.
The police spokesman said that manhunt for the fleeing members of the gang was on-going. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
