The Lagos Border Patrol Command of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) at Seme in Badagry has apprehended a six-month-old baby along with three other individuals, who are suspected victims of human trafficking.
Comptroller Peter Adache, head of the command, revealed this information during a press briefing in Badagry on Friday, July 26, 2024. He stated that the victims were intercepted with their alleged traffickers—a couple—on Monday at around 1:30 p.m. on Kankon Owode Road in Badagry.
Adache noted that the group was en route to Burkina Faso via the Republic of Benin, lacking the necessary travel documentation. "None of them possessed any travel documents when intercepted at Owode Border," he confirmed.
During questioning, it emerged that one of the suspected traffickers, a food vendor and Burkina Faso national, had enticed the victims to travel with her. "The three women chose to accompany her based on her promise of providing them with good jobs and salaries," Adache explained.
The trafficker contacted her husband, a Benin Republic national, and together they organized the transportation of the three women and the baby to Burkina Faso. The couple covered all travel and subsistence costs for the six individuals.
Adache added that the victims will be transferred to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to facilitate their reunion with their families. "This is a distressing situation that we cannot ignore. I have been instructed by the Assistant Controller General of Immigration for Zone A to hand them over to NAPTIP," he said.
The Lagos Border Patrol Command will continue to enforce immigration regulations and work towards the protection of Nigerians and the reintegration of trafficking victims into their families.
One of the victims, a mother of the six-month-old baby, shared that she was abandoned by her husband shortly after giving birth, leading her to travel with the couple in hopes of survival. "After my delivery, my husband left me to care for the baby alone. With no support, I agreed to go to Burkina Faso when the trafficker promised me better opportunities," she said. "The journey has been arduous, and I wish to return home."
The victims were subsequently handed over to Ibraheem Ogunbiyi, Assistant Director and Head of the Counseling and Rehabilitation Unit at NAPTIP, Lagos Zonal Command, who represented Comfort Agboko, NAPTIP Zonal Commander for Lagos.
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