THE Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Lagos Seaports and Marine Command successfully foiled an attempt to smuggle seven Nigerian girls to Burkina Faso.
At a media conference in Lagos on Friday, the Comptroller of Immigration, Lagos Seaports and Marine Command, Malam Mohammed Saddiq, revealed this intervention.
The interception of the girls occurred on Nov. 12 at about 19.00 hours, as disclosed by Saddiq.
The prime suspect, Miss Helen Dandam Nanbyen, 26, from Wadata village in Wase Local Government Area of Plateau, was identified by the immigration authorities.
Following intelligence gathered by their operatives, the suspects had been under the command’s radar for about two months. The arrest took place along Pashi waterway bordering Nigeria and Benin Republic.
During the investigation, it was revealed that the seven smuggled victims, aged 19 to 23, are from Langtang North Local Government Area of Plateau.
It was established that the girls willfully consented to the journey under false identities with the intention of engaging in prostitution in Burkina Faso.
The immigration boss highlighted that the suspects lacked valid travel documents and financial means for the journey, and Nanbyen confessed her involvement in prostitution and her role in facilitating the transportation of potential sex workers into Burkina Faso.
She also confessed to working with an individual who recruited four of the girls, but is currently at large.
These arrests are part of the Command’s renewed commitment to curbing migrant smuggling, human trafficking, and maritime crimes, under the directive of the Comptroller-General of the NIS, Caroline Wura-ola Adepoju.
