Two mothers suspected to have been victims of human trafficking have been rescued by men of the Kebbi State Command of Nigeria Immigration Service.
The women were handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).
The development was made known in Birnin Kebbi on Thursday by the Comptroller of the NIS in the state, Mrs Rabi Bashir-Nuhu.
The Comptroller further disclosed that the victims, indigenes of Edo State were rescued in Kebbi while travelling to Niger via Kebbi when they were arrested by immigration border personnel in the Yauri Local Government Area of the state.
“The victims, who are mothers aged 31 each, have children; one has one child, and the other has three children.
“They have left their children at home as they were promised domestic jobs in Niger Republic and have no travelling documents – no visa and no passport.
“We have to apply Pact 10 and 11 of Immigration Act 2015, to intercept them and hand them over to NAPTIP,” she said.
The comptroller reassured that the NIS would not allow any suspicious character or person profiting from human trafficking to escape the service drag-net.
The victims, in their confession, confirmed that they were going to the Niger Republic, following their sisters’ invitation, who claimed to have secured a job for them.
“I have one boy and two daughters and I am taking this step for myself so as to have a better life for myself and my children,” one of the victims said.
Receiving the victims, the Head of Operation of NAPTIP in the state, Alhaji Sadiq Atiku, said that the agency would undertake a proper and thorough investigation into the matter to unravel the perpetrators.
“We thank the NIS for making our job easier, and we are going to investigate thoroughly from the victims’ take-off destination, the transporters and people involved, to their trafficking to Niger.
“We are going to rehabilitate and counsel the victims and ensure that they are united with their children,” he said.
Atiku commended the NIS for its collaboration with the agency in the fight against human trafficking in the country.