No fewer than eight Ghanian ladies have been arrested by operatives of the Nigerian Immigration Service at the Muritala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos for attempted human trafficking.
The suspects, who were arrested on Monday, were said to be passing through the Lagos airport to Kuwait via Libya, where they hoped to cross over to Europe.
The NIS officials were said to have suspected the ladies immediately they approached the immigration counter and queried them on their mission out of the continent through Nigeria with Ghanaian passports.
A source close to the command stated that upon questioning, the ladies who were between the ages of 20 to 25 confessed that they wanted to use Nigeria as transit to Europe.
The source said they also confessed that they came into the country through Togo and Benin Republic based on the advice of their sponsors
According to the source, the ladies had no genuine reasons for attempting to use Nigeria as a transit point to Europe.
The source said, “So, this led to further queries from our officers. When they were asked, they confessed to the fact that they were actually heading to Europe, but had hoped to land in Kuwait first.
During interrogation, it was discovered that the ladies in question actually entered Nigeria through road from Ghana to Togo and then to Benin Republic.
“This is not the first time we are arresting human traffickers at this airport and we will continue to increase our surveillance to ensure that unscrupulous elements don’t use our command to perpetuate their criminal activities.”
The NIS Spokesperson, Sunday James, confirmed the incident and said;
“The airport command arrested eight Ghanaian ladies and after profiling them, they were taken to National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons for further investigation and possible prosecution”
