Writing By Khadijah Aliyu / Editing By Godwin Duru
Kano State Hisbah Command has arrested an agent name withheld at a motor park with twelve women, about to depart for Lagos.
The Deputy Commander General of Hisbah, Sheikh Mujahideen Aminuddeen, in a statement explained that the man was arrested by the command’s officials at a motorpark along Zaria road.
According to the DCG, the Hisbah operatives, led by OC motor parks Muhammad Bashir, arrested the agent, who was said to be from Borno state, boarding a motor vehicle to Lagos alongside the victims.
Aminuddeen disclosed that preliminary information had shown that the man was trafficking the women, each with international passport to Sierra Leone through Lagos, Benin Republic and Ghana.
The DCG stated that the man had plan to facilitate issuance of visa for the victims to travel to Saudi Arabia in search for greener pasture.
Aminuddeen also disclosed that during interrogation, the women informed the Hisbah that each of them had paid N1,500,000 initial payment with the agreement to pay the balance when they get job at their destination country.
He said one of the women is 50 years old, two are 23 years each, two are 20 years, while the remaining are mostly 15 years of age.
He explained that among the victims, 3 are from Katsina, 2 from Kano, 1 each from Borno, Jigawa and Zamfara states.
“This is unfortunate. The money they paid for this trip is enough for them to start a business in their respective states. I wonder how they defined the risks involved in this kind of journey.
“We called on their guardians, parents and loved ones to caution them against this kind of trips.
“We have arrested the at a motorpark in Kano. We have been informed that they are on their way to Lagos, from Lagos to Benin Republic, then Ghana where the agent would work for their visas to Saudi Arabia.
“If the visa processes fail, they would be moved to Sierra Leone Even if they secure the visa to Saudi Arabia, there is not specific work to do there. This is dangerous and unfortunate,”
Aminuddeen disclosed that Hisbah had handed over the agent and the victims to National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, for further investigation.
Rel/Khadijah Aliyu
