NAPTIP nabs mother of nine for trafficking

A 40-year-old woman and mother of nine children, Mrs Halimatu Omoruyi Osifo, has been arrested by the Benin Zonal Command of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).

A statement by the Commander, Benin Zonal Command of NAPTIP, Nduka Nwanwenne, indicated that Mrs Osifo, who hails from Igbanke in Orhionwon Local Government Area of Edo State, was arrested by operatives of NAPTIP with the support of officers of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC).

The suspect was said to have recruited two girls (names withheld) by promising them lucrative jobs outside of the country.

She, however, sent the two girls, who are 18 and 20 years old, to her daughter, Blessing, alias Stella, in Togo for prostitution.

The statement added that as soon as the girls arrived Togo, Blessing procured for them skimpy dresses and introduced them into prostitution.

One of the two girls was said to have got tired of prostitution and escaped with the order before they were rescued by NAPTIP.

In a statement, the Director General of NAPTIP, Julie Okah-Donli, said the Agency was poised to smoke out human traffickers wherever they operate in Nigeria.

The Director General added that the Agency was already gathering intelligence on communities where prostitution is endemic in the country with a view to getting traffickers out of business.