NIS intercepts 189 trafficked victims at Seme border

The acting Comptroller General of Immigration, Isah Jere Idris has on Tuesday, announced the interception of 189 Boys and Girls suspected to be victims of human trafficking by the Lagos Border Patrol Command at Seme.

Speaking at the Zone ‘A’ Headquarters of the Service in Lagos, the acting Comptroller General said that the youths made up of 115 Girls and 74 Boys aged between 15 to 20 years were intercepted in batches on their way out of the country through the Seme Border Area.

In a statement issued by the Assistant Comptroller of Immigration Service Public Relations Officer, Amos Okpu, which was made available to CAPITAL POST in Abuja, Tuesday, said, Ninety-two of them were intercepted on 22nd January 2022 while another 97 were picked up by our vigilant operatives on 24th January 2022.

The victims while speaking with the acting Comptroller General said that they were on their way to Emerald University in Benin Republic to commence degree programmes.

They stated that a faith-based organization operating in Imo and Abia States offered them provisional admissions into the school.

The victims who are from States such as Abia, Kogi, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Lagos and Imo among others could neither present any admission letters nor evidence of payment of school fees for their studies.

Moreover, only three of them hold valid travel documents.

Investigation revealed that two persons namely Sunday Emmanuel Chinasa and Ms. Rose Onum Uduma who were also arrested along with the victims coordinated the trip.

The duo claimed to be students of ISCG University in Benin Republic and had been mandated to facilitate the movement of the youths to Benin Republic. Each of the victims claimed to have paid the sum of Fifty Thousand Naira Only (N50, 000:00) for the process.

The Acting Comptroller General wishes to use this medium to call on the general public to beware of fraudsters who come up in diverse styles and antics to deceive unsuspecting people into accepting all manner of offers abroad.

He maintained that the Service under his watch will continue to ensure enhanced border security and migration management to discourage all forms of irregular migration.

He further called on the public to continue to offer useful pieces of information to the Service for a more robust fight against cross-border crimes.

The 189 victims have been handed over to the officials of the Lagos Zonal Office of NAPTIP for further necessary processes.