The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Katsina State Command, was reported to have rescued three victims of sex trafficking and arrested three individuals suspected to be members of an interstate human trafficking syndicate.
The Punch reported that a statement issued on Wednesday by NAPTIP’s Chief Press Officer, Vincent Adekoye, the suspects were apprehended at a well-known hotel in Katsina township during an operation in which the three suspected victims were also rescued.
The statement, titled ‘NAPTIP Raids Popular Hotel In Katsina, Arrests Three Suspected Members Of Inter–state Human Trafficking Syndicate And Rescues Three Victims’, indicated that the syndicate was believed to be involved in the recruitment, harbouring, and trafficking of young women from various parts of Nigeria to the northern region for sexual exploitation.
In addition to the suspected traffickers, the hotel manager and two other staff members were also reportedly taken into custody.
It was revealed that two of the victims were from Benue State, while the third was from Rivers State, with their ages ranging between 21 and 26.
Preliminary investigations reportedly suggested that the suspects were key suppliers of trafficked victims to brothels and other notorious centres, including some located in neighbouring countries.
It was also reported that, weeks earlier, the Director General of NAPTIP, Binta Bello, had directed operatives nationwide to intensify their surveillance and intelligence-gathering efforts, particularly concerning the rising reports of inter-state recruitment and trafficking. Bello was said to have instructed the agency’s personnel to focus on the activities of hotels, drinking spots, and motor parks in state capitals, where trafficking rings were suspected to operate.
According to reports, the victims were discovered in a small room within the hotel premises, while the traffickers were found in another, more luxuriously furnished room within the same compound, allegedly enjoying the proceeds of their exploitative activities.
Another said, “We sleep with a lot of men, at least 20 men a day, and all the money we get goes to the chairlady of the place, by name Amarachi.
“We have no choice but to sleep with 20 men a day. Even when we are on our monthly period, we are being forced to sleep with the same number of men.
“Even when we are sick or tired, they would force us to sleep with men. They said it was not their business to know how we felt, but to engage in prostitution.
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