News
NAPTIP Frees Seven Victims of Human Trafficking in Raid on Hotel Near Abuja Airport
NAPTIP Frees Seven Victims of Human Trafficking in Raid on Hotel Near Abuja Airport
By: Michael Mike
Operatives of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) have rescued seven persons who were being prepared to be trafficked to Baghdad, Iraq, for exploitation.
The seven victims were freed during a raid on a popular hotel located at Zamaru, a few kilometers away from the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja.
According to a statement signed on Sunday by the press officer of NAPTIP, Vincent Adekoye, the raid which also led to the arrest of the manager of the hotel followed credible intelligence from concerned stakeholders who noticed the unusual movement of some young girls and strange-looking men within the flourishing hotel thereby indicating that the facilities are being used to habour victims of human trafficking.
Adekoye recalled that the agency had in the last few months intercepted no fewer than 60 suspected victims of human trafficking at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, on their way to some of the volatile and war-torn countries in the Middle East.
He noted that a critical profiling of the rescued victims indicated that six of them were deceived and recruited from Lagos while one is from Delta State.
Adekoye said as it was the case with other rescued victims in the past, the victims were deceived with a promise of a caregiving job in Iraq and are signed off into slavery by two sets of recruiters whose identities are not known to them.
“They told me that I will do a househelp in Baghdad and I will receive good salary every month. I believed them because I think say Baghdad is in another Country. Them no tell me say I dey go work for Iraq”, one of them recalled with tears as she narrated her ordeal in the hands of the recruiter to officials of NAPTIP.
Meanwhile, while speaking on the development, the Director General of NAPTIP, Binta Adamu Bello, expressed displeasure over the roles of some unscrupulous service providers in the recruitment and trafficking of Nigerians for various forms of exploitation and warned that henceforth the agency shall invoke the relevant provisions of its Law to prosecute erring entities.
Represented by the Director, Research and Programme Development, Mr. Josiah Emerole, the Director General said, “It is sad the way some of the service providers in the country aid and abet the recruitment, transportation, transfers, and habouring of Nigerians who are victims of human trafficking.
“The hotel is believed to be a muster point for victims of human trafficking to some of the notorious destination countries. The manage of the hotel is being quizzed and we have also intensified the manhunt for other members of the trafficking gang working in collaboration with other criminal elements in Iraq”.
“The suspected victims are trafficked from different parts of the country and haboured in the hotel. They are further briefed on how to evade arrest at any point by disguising themselves in various forms and answering questions from Law enforcement Officers at the airport.”
The Director General added that: “Due to the unpatriotic roles of some of these service providers, the agency shall henceforth invoke the appropriate section of its law to prosecute them. This is because harbouring suspected victims of human trafficking is also an offense in the Trafficking law.”
NAPTIP Frees Seven Victims of Human Trafficking in Raid on Hotel Near Abuja Airport
Armed Bandits Attack Ringa Village, Kidnap Four in Niger
By: Zagazola Makama
Armed bandits have carried out a deadly raid in Ringa Village, located in the Ringa District of Rafi Local Government Area in Niger State, kidnapping four individuals and causing widespread damage, the state police command confirmed.
Intelligence sources told Zagazola Makama that on April 18, 2025, at approximately 1000hrs, a large group of armed bandits and insurgents, riding on motorcycles, invaded the village. During the attack, the assailants abducted four men Anas Shuaibu, Isah Kazuga, Mande Samari, and Bazama Kiwoji who were all residents of the village.
In addition to the kidnapping, the bandits set fire to the village’s electricity transformer, plunging the community into darkness. They also stole four unregistered Bajaj motorcycles that had been abandoned by their owners, who fled in fear for their lives.
Security forces are currently conducting intensive operations in a bid to rescue the kidnapped victims and apprehend the perpetrators of the attack.
Armed Bandits Attack Ringa Village, Kidnap Four in Niger
Pastor Killed in Armed Robbery Attack in Plateau
By: Zagazola Makama
The Plateau State Police Command has confirmed the killing of a pastor in Bassa Local Government Area following an armed robbery incident that occurred late Friday night.
Sources told Zagazola Makama that the he victim, identified as Pastor Yohanna Bitrus, 40, was attacked and killed by unidentified assailants who also stole his motorcycle.
The report was made by a resident, who informed the police that the incident took place at about 11:20 p.m. on April 18.
Upon receipt of the report, the Divisional Police Officer in Bassa led patrol teams to the scene, where the victim was found with a deep machete cut on his chest
Pastor Bitrus was rushed to Bassa Cottage Hospital, where he was confirmed dead by the attending doctor.
Following the incident, a joint team of the military, police and other security agencies was immediately deployed into the surrounding forest in pursuit of the suspects.
Pastor Killed in Armed Robbery Attack in Plateau
JNIM Claims Deadly Attack on Benin Military Bases, Says 70 Soldiers Killed
By: Zagazola Makama
Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), a terrorist group operating in the Sahel, has claimed responsibility for coordinated attacks on two military positions in northern Benin Republic on Thursday, April 17, 2025.
In a statement released through its propaganda channels, the group said it killed 70 Beninese soldiers during the assaults. The attacks reportedly targeted military companies stationed near the country’s northern borders with Burkina Faso and Niger – regions increasingly plagued by jihadist violence.
JNIM also published images of weapons and equipment it said were captured during the attacks. Among the items allegedly seized were:
American-made M2HB heavy machine guns, Five PP87 mortars of Chinese origin, Fifty-one rocket-assisted mortar shells, Three surveillance drones, Six motorcycles, Sixty-four grenades, Seventy-eight Kalashnikov rifles, Over 300 ammunition magazines, Type 80 and W-85 machine guns, Type 81-1 rifles Type 56-1 rocket launchers, and T69-1 anti-tank projectiles.
The Beninese government has yet to issue an official statement confirming the claims. However, security sources have confirmed that military operations are ongoing in the northern region, and reinforcements have been deployed to contain the situation.
JNIM, which is affiliated with al-Qaeda, has expanded its activities into coastal West African states in recent years, marking a shift in its operational footprint beyond Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.
JNIM Claims Deadly Attack on Benin Military Bases, Says 70 Soldiers Killed
Armed Bandits Attack Ringa Village, Kidnap Four in Niger
Pastor Killed in Armed Robbery Attack in Plateau
EXCLUSIVE: Militia Supremacy Battle Fuels Deadly Attacks in Benue Community as 17 Killed
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