The comptroller of immigration at the Lagos Seaports and Marine Command, Mohammed Saddiq, on Friday warned boat operators against human trafficking.

In a statement by the command’s spokesman, Augustus Maisor, the comptroller, admonished boat operators to promptly report cases of suspected human trafficking to the authorities for immediate action.

Mr Saddiq stated that immigration personnel on the Badagry waterways, on November 25, apprehended two Nigerian girls on board a Porto-Novo-bound passenger boat. 

“Preliminary investigation showed that the girls left Port Harcourt with the help of their friend, who they claimed promised them a better job at an undisclosed location.

“The alleged arrowhead was not part of the thwarted journey.

“Part of the deal was for the duo to insulate themselves from other passengers as a deliberate way of evading arrest,’’ Mr Saddiq said.

He also said that on November 26, three girls from Akwa Ibom and Anambra were arrested without travel documents or valid means of identity while on their way to Ghana.

Mr Saddiq explained that while the trio claimed they did not know the details of a high-paying job they were supposed to be engaged in, they knew what the job was and wilfully consented to the trip.

He noted that efforts made to reunite the trafficked victims of Akwa Ibom extraction with their families were rebuffed by the representatives of the state’s liaison office in Lagos.

“These arrests came on the heels of an earlier one, which involved seven trafficked persons and a suspected trafficker,” Mr Saddiq said.

He added that the suspected smuggler had been granted bail on health grounds while the investigation was ongoing. 

(NAN)