The Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Imaan Sulaiman- Ibrahim, has announced the arrest of four human traffickers in Kano.

Further disclosing the rescue of 52 victims, Ms Sulaiman-Ibrahim said that human trafficking is modern-day slavery that involves the exploitation of victims.

Ms Sulaiman-Ibrahim made the revelation at a news briefing held on her behalf by the Kano head of NAPTIP, Abdullahi Babale, on Monday.

NAPTIP said it rescued 52 victims and arrested four suspected human traffickers in Kano from April 30 to May 10, 2021.

Of the 52 victims, Ms Sulaiman-Ibrahim explained that 48 of the rescued victims were females while four were males, aged between 16 and 34. She added that out of the four suspected traffickers, three were males and one female.

She added that 17 of the victims were rescued by immigration officials in Jigawa and Katsina States.

“The agency received intelligence report that the victims were on transit from Delta, Imo, Edo, Ogun, Oyo the and Ondo States en route to Europe via Libya.

“On receiving the information, a special operation was coordinated in Kano, Katsina and Jigawa States to rescue the victims.

“The suspects were arrested by NAPTIP/Joint Border Task Force officers.

“The operation is still ongoing to arrest other suspects and to rescue more than 100 victims,” she said.

The DG reiterated the agency’s commitment to fighting human trafficking and the rehabilitation and empowerment of survivors.

She assured that the special operation would cover all Northern states’ borders to checkmate trafficking and smuggling activities.

Ms Sulaiman-Ibrahim pledged that the agency would make it difficult for human traffickers and their agents to succeed in their evil operations while calling on parents to protect their children from being exploited and lured into slavery in the name of seeking greener pastures abroad.

She commended security agencies, especially the Nigeria Immigration Service, for their support of NAPTIP.

(NAN)