In a significant operation, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Lagos Seaports and Marine Command, has successfully thwarted an attempt to smuggle seven Nigerian girls to Burkina Faso.
During a press briefing in Lagos on Friday, the Comptroller of Immigration, Lagos Seaports and Marine Command, Malam Mohammed Saddiq, revealed that the girls were intercepted on November 12 at approximately 19:00 hours.
Further disclosure from Saddiq pointed to Miss Helen Dandam Nanbyen, 26, from Wadata village in Wase Local Government Area of Plateau, as the prime suspect in this illicit attempt.
“Our operatives have been monitoring the suspects for about two months, based on gathered intelligence. Their arrest was made possible by the vigilant Badagry Marine Border Patrol Team along Pashi waterway, which forms the border between Nigeria and Benin Republic,” Saddiq stated.
It emerged during the investigation that the seven girls, aged between 19 and 23, are from Langtang North Local Government Area of Plateau. Saddiq emphasized, “The girls willfully consented to the journey under false identities with the intent to indulge in prostitution in Burkina Faso.”
However, the Immigration boss noted the suspects’ lack of valid travel documents or financial means to sustain themselves during the journey. Under interrogation, Nanbyen confessed to her involvement in the illicit business and admitted to facilitating the transportation of potential sex workers into Burkina Faso.
“Nanbyen also confessed to working with her madam, an indigene of Edo, who operates a beer selling spot in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso,” the controller explained. “She further admitted collaborating with Miss Ella, who recruited four of the girls, but is currently at large.”
The arrest is a testament to the renewed commitment of the Command in line with the directives of the Comptroller-General of the NIS, Caroline Wura-ola Adepoju, in curbing migrant smuggling, human trafficking, and all forms of crimes within the maritime space, Saddiq added.
