Four
notorious suspected human traffickers have been caught by the Immigrations
Service, Oyo State Command, while allegedly attempting to smuggle a nursing
mother along with her two-year-old son, nine girls, and a boy.
The suspects
and their victims were apprehended at the Saki border, in Oke-Ogun area of Oyo
State. The four men were accused of involvement in a trafficking ring which was
responsible for bringing in several foreigners, notably Beninois and Togolese,
into the country without travelling documents.
Comptroller
of Immigration, Oyo State Command, Innocent Akatu, said the victims were
usually sold into slavery where they would work on large farmlands and local
markets in the area. He also said that some would be used as housemaids, not
ruling out the possibility of involving the illegal aliens in prostitution
rings by their traffickers.
“It’s a
continuous exercise and a menace we will like to trash. They were arrested at
our border post in Shaki area of Oyo State on Monday while trying to enter
Nigeria in different batches. They are from Togo and Benin Republic and after
interrogation, we found out that they had entered Nigeria illegally. We will
hand them over to the National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic in Persons for
appropriate measure. There is the need to sensitise the public on the evils
associated with child trafficking. Some of these people are young children of
eight years old.”
One of the
suspects, Pascal Musa from Benin Republic, said he was a farmer in Iseyin and
that he brought the nursing mother, Sambiani Melane, 20, her 13-year-old sister
and two other girls to Nigeria to work in restaurants and farms.
He said, “I
did not obtain necessary papers before bringing them in to the country because
I did not know that it was wrong. We were caught in a bus after crossing to
Nigeria. I told them we were going to Nigeria and that the people with me were
also going there to look for work in Iseyin. I came with four people. One of
them has a baby but I took permission from her parents before bringing her
here. She was not living with the father of her baby because they were not
married. I intended to take them to Toluwaloni where food is sold.”
Melane stated
that the father of her son did not marry her and that he was aware of her
sojourn in Nigeria with the child.
She said, “He
impregnated me in our house but we are not married. He knows that I was coming
to Nigeria to work. I was not promised any money yet because we were yet to
enter Nigeria when we were caught. I am a trained fashion designer at home but
there is no work. I have never been to Nigeria.”
Kofi Musa is
a father of 11 children with his wife pregnant with their twins. He has been in
Nigeria for 12 years. Like his kinsman, Musa, he is also a suspected human
trafficker who has allegedly brought in several foreigners to Nigeria.
He said, “I
have been farming in Iwere-Ile area of Oke-Ogun for 12 years. I got married
there and I have 11 children. I was caught with three children but I have
others working with me in the farm. I promised to pay the money of those I was
caught with to Zan, the father of two of them. The father of the last one has
travelled to France. He said I should take care of the child in his absence, so
I brought him to Nigeria to work on the farm. On each child, I collect N8,000
per month from those who seek their services.’’
Culled: Punch
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