Operatives of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Ilela border command, Sokoto State, has foiled an attempt to traffick two underaged girls across the border to the Niger Republic, News About Nigeria reports.
The command also arrested the attempted trafficker, identified as Rukaya Hassan, and rescued the girls.
The Command Public Relations Officer, Mohammed Abdullahi disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.
He noted that the operation was in a swift response to the morale-boosting charge of the new Comptroller of Immigration, Mrs Kemi Nandap.
According to him, during interrogation, the 25-year-old lady, who resides in the Giribshi area of Sokoto, confessed that she did not know the two young girls she was travelling with to Niger.
He disclosed that during interrogation, Rukaya stated that the two teenagers, Nabila Ibrahim, 17 years old and her sister, Zainab Ibrahim, 15 years old, who hails from Zuru LGA in Kebbi State, were handed over to her by one woman in Sokoto, named Maman Adnan, who paid for their transport to Niger.
The girls stated that they were going to Niger to resume work in a certain restaurant which they didn’t know the owner, but that their parents approved of their trip.
“She claimed they were handed over to her by one woman in Sokoto, named Maman Adnan who paid for their transport to Niger.
“She also claimed the woman requested her to help take the two girls to another woman in Niger, named Amina Yunusa who will give them jobs in her restaurant in Niamey,” Abdullahi stated.
Abdullahi further stated that the victims have been handed over to the National Agency For Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for further investigations.
Also reacting to this, the Comptroller of Immigration, Ilela Command, Tony Akuneme who conducted the interviews, invited the NAPTIP in Sokoto State to take charge of the two victims and the suspected trafficker, adding that this will help in further investigation and possible prosecution.
Akuneme reiterated his commitment to sustaining the campaign against smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons, to cascade the efforts of the CG.
