Four suspected human traffickers have been apprehended and 19 victims rescued by the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).

The representative of the NAPTIP boss, Abdullahi Babale, said on Monday that the four suspected traffickers are males, while the rescued victims are females between the ages of 14 years and 29 years.

“The agency received an intelligence report that the suspects harboured the victims in their house situated at Jigawa State before moving them in batches to the Niger Republic.

“The victims were on transit from Ondo, Ekiti, Delta, Anambra, Edo, Osun, Kogi, Akwa Ibom, Kwara, Ogun and Lagos states en route to Rivers, Oyo, Osun, Delta and Ogun States then to Europe via Libya.

“On receiving the information, a special operation was coordinated by NAPTIP Joint Border Task Force in collaboration with Katsina State Police Command and the 19 victims were rescued on August 18,” he said.

Mr Babale, who is the Kano zonal commander of NAPTIP, said the agency also rescued five victims of child labour and arrested two suspects.

According to him, the victims are five females between the ages of 10 and 11 years.

He said on August 11, the agency received information that the victims were on transit from

Bareruwan Daji Village in Katsina State enroute Kaduna via Kano.

He called on parents to protect their children from being exploited and lured into slavery in the name of seeking greener pastures.

The director-general commended Katsina State Police Command for their support.

“We will do all that we can to see that the menace of human trafficking and smuggling of migrants is brought to an end.’’

The agency had on August 9, rescued 80 victims of human trafficking en route Kano via the Niger Republic to Europe.