The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) at the Ilela border command in Sokoto has arrested a 25-year-old woman, Rukaya Hassan, for attempting to traffic two underage girls to the Niger Republic.
This development was confirmed by Mohammed Abdullahi, the Command Public Relations Officer, in a statement issued from Abuja on Tuesday.
According to Abdullahi, the two girls have been handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for further investigation.
The operation was carried out following a directive from the new Comptroller of Immigration, Kemi Nandap.
During questioning, Hassan, who resides in the Giribshi area of Sokoto, admitted that she did not know the girls.
“She claimed they were handed over to her by a woman in Sokoto named Maman Adnan, who paid for their transport to Niger,” Abdullahi explained. “She also claimed the woman requested her to take the two girls to another woman in Niger, named Amina Yunusa, who would give them jobs in her restaurant in Niamey.”
Further investigation revealed that the girls, Nabila Ibrahim (17) and Zainab Ibrahim (15), are from Zuru Local Government Area in Kebbi State.
The girls stated that their parents had approved their journey to Niger for work at a restaurant, although they did not know the owner.
Tony Akuneme, the Comptroller of Immigration for the Ilela Command, conducted interviews and involved NAPTIP Sokoto State to handle the victims and the suspected trafficker.
Akuneme pledged to assist in the investigations and potential prosecution, echoing the commitment of the Immigration Comptroller General to combat smuggling and trafficking.
