Immigration warns commercial boat operators against human trafficking

Comptroller of Immigration at the Lagos Seaports and Marine Command, Mr Mohammed Saddiq, on Friday warned boat operators against human trafficking.

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

“On Nov. 25, two Nigerian girls were apprehended on board a Porto Novo-bound passenger boat by Immigration personnel on patrol on the Badagry waterways.

“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.

“Luck ran out of them when they were intercepted by immigration officials,’’ Saddiq said in the statement.

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

He 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, Saddiq said.

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