Anietie Udobit, Abuja
Operatives of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Katsina State Command, have busted an inter-state human trafficking syndicate and rescued three young women forced into prostitution.
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The agency also arrested three suspected members of the trafficking ring, believed to specialise in the recruitment, harbouring, and trafficking of young girls from various parts of the country to the northern region for sexual exploitation.
The raid was confirmed in a statement, dated 9 July 2025, by NAPTIP’s Press Officer, Vincent Adekoye.
The agency revealed that the suspects were apprehended in one of the prominent hotels in Katsina township (name withheld), where three victims were also rescued. The hotel’s manager and two other workers were taken into custody during the raid. The statement added that victims, aged between 21 and 26, are from Benue and Rivers States.
According to the agency, the bust follows a recent directive from its Director General, Binta Adamu Bello, OON, instructing operatives nationwide to intensify surveillance and intelligence-gathering efforts to tackle increasing cases of inter-state trafficking.
According to Adekoye, “The Director General had earlier asked that operatives pay close attention to activities around hotels, drinking joints, and motor parks in state capitals to disrupt criminal networks.”
He disclosed that during the raid, the victims were discovered in a small, poorly furnished room within the hotel complex, while the traffickers were found in a well-equipped room within the same premises, allegedly enjoying the proceeds of their exploitation.
Speaking with NAPTIP operatives after their rescue, one of the victims recounted her traumatic experience.
“I was brought here by a woman (name withheld). She promised to give us a job and said we would be paid very well. I asked her the nature of the job, but she said I would find out when I got here. When we arrived, she introduced us to prostitution, which was not what we were told,” she said.
“We sleep with at least 20 men every day, and all the money goes to the chairlady of the place, called Amarachi. Even during our monthly period or when we are sick or tired, they force us to sleep with men. They told us our feelings don’t matter—only the money. They even give us Fearless energy drinks every night to keep us going,” she added in tears.
The victim also disclosed that the traffickers not only took all their earnings but also paid men to keep watch over them, preventing their escape and ensuring their continued exploitation.
Reacting to the operation, NAPTIP Director General Binta Adamu Bello condemned the complicity of certain hotel operators in enabling trafficking rings.
“I wish to commend the operatives of NAPTIP in Katsina for the raid and rescue of the victims. Their stories are painful and sad. They were deceived, recruited, trafficked, and forced into prostitution. While they faced horror every day, their traffickers were somewhere within the same hotel, feeding fat on the proceeds of the exploitation,” Bello said.
She added that the hotel in question would face appropriate legal sanctions in accordance with anti-trafficking laws.
“It is also important to reiterate our earlier warning about hotel operators aiding and abetting human trafficking. We have commenced legal proceedings to determine the next course of action for the hotel. The law shall definitely take its course,” she stated.