The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has rescued 25 women in Abuja from a suspected human trafficking syndicate allegedly planning to traffic them to Saudi Arabia for forced labour.
According to NAPTIP, the victims—aged between 17 and 43—were intercepted in front of a popular hotel in Wuse II, where traffickers had assembled them ahead of their departure. Most of the women had been recruited from rural communities in Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina states with false promises of lucrative domestic jobs abroad. At the time of their rescue, they were stranded and without travel documents.
"Some people came to our village and told my parents they would help me get a job as a house help in Saudi Arabia," one of the victims told investigators. "They said I would earn good money to support my family. We were told to wait here for our documents, but they never came back."
NAPTIP’s Press Officer, Vincent Adekoye, said the agency’s swift intervention followed a tip-off and is part of ongoing efforts to curb human trafficking networks operating in urban hubs.
The agency’s Director-General, Binta Adamu Bello, confirmed the rescue and revealed that a well-known travel agency has been linked to the operation. A manhunt is currently underway to locate the agency and its operators.
“This is a disturbing new tactic by trafficking syndicates who are now using Abuja as a transit hub,” Bello stated. “Just a few months ago, we intercepted a group near the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport. Now, another 25 women have been saved.”
She also issued a stern warning to the Association of Recruiters and Licensed Placement Agencies of Nigeria to closely monitor their members, emphasizing that many trafficking victims suffer severe exploitation abroad.
“The heartbreaking truth is that many of these women accepted the offers in good faith, not knowing the horrors that awaited them,” she said. “The positive news is that we’ve disrupted this particular trafficking attempt and are closing in on those responsible.”
NAPTIP said the rescue was part of a broader intelligence and surveillance operation, responding to a surge in the recruitment of young women from rural areas for trafficking abroad.
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