Tuesday, September 22, 2026

Police detain notorious human trafficker, rescue two victims in Akwa Ibom

Ms John said the suspect was in police custody as the investigation was in high gear to track and apprehend his accomplices.

• August 31, 2025
Police officers
Police officers[Credit: BBC]

The Akwa Ibom Police Command has detained a notorious human trafficker in Uyo, the state capital.

The command’s public relations officer, Timfon John, disclosed this in a statement in Uyo on Sunday.

Ms John said operatives arrested an alleged notorious human trafficker, a 47-year-old male from Edo, on August 26, at approximately 9:30 a.m.

She said the arrest was made following reliable intelligence that the suspect frequently came to Uyo to traffic young women to various African countries for prostitution and other illicit activities.

“Acting on credible information, a surveillance team located and apprehended the suspect at a hotel on Ring Road 3, Uyo. During the arrest, police rescued two victims,” Ms John said.

According to Ms John, preliminary investigation indicates that the suspect, who was deported from another African country, had previously trafficked two young women to Libya in July and Burkina Faso on August 18.

According to her, the suspect has confessed to the crime, admitting he was paid ₦50,000 per victim.

“The parents of the trafficked victims have been contacted to provide statements,” Ms John said.

Ms John said the suspect was in police custody as the investigation was in high gear to track and apprehend his accomplices.

(NAN)

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

suspects

States

Police nab four suspects for alleged child trafficking in Abia

Ms Chinaka said the suspects allegedly conspired to steal a four-day-old baby from her mentally unstable mother. 

Peter Mbah

Agriculture

Enugu hires over 160 professionals to revive livestock production

Mr Ubru said the recruitment was in fulfilment of Governor Peter Mbah’s vision to revamp the agricultural sector.

Caleb Mutfwang

Heading 2

Plateau government disburses N1.5 billion intervention funds to attack victims

Governor Caleb Mutfwang formally inaugurated the disbursement of the funds on Monday in Jos.

Nyesom Wike

Heading 5

Don’t destroy APC like you did PDP, group warns Wike

Mr Wike has insisted that his major political priority remained securing the re-election of Mr Tinubu in 2027. 

ECOWAS

Economy

ECOWAS to honour 60 West African start-ups

The top three start-ups will receive $30,000, $20,000 and $15,000 respectively in seed funding.