Rita Odafe
An individual named Rukaya Hassan, aged 25, was apprehended by the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) at the Ilela border command in Sokoto State while trying to traffic two minor girls, Nabila Ibrahim, 17, and her sister Zainab Ibrahim, 15, into Niger Republic.
The Command Public Relations Officer (CPRO), Mohammed Abdullahi, revealed this information in a statement issued on Tuesday.
Abdullahi disclosed that the victims had been transferred to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for further investigation.
He mentioned that this action was a prompt response to the motivating directive from the new Comptroller-General of Immigration (CGI), Mrs Kemi Nandap.
During the interrogation, Hassan, a resident of Giribshi area in Sokoto, admitted that she was unfamiliar with the two young girls she was accompanying to Niger.
“She claimed they were entrusted to her by a woman in Sokoto named Maman Adnan, who funded their journey to Niger.
“She indicated that the woman sought her assistance to take the girls to another woman in Niger identified as Amina Yunusa, who would offer them employment at her restaurant in Niamey,” he disclosed.
Furthermore, during the questioning, the two teenagers, Nabila Ibrahim, 17, and Zainab Ibrahim, 15, revealed that they were from Zuru LGA in Kebbi State.
“They clarified that they were traveling to Niger to work at a specific restaurant owned by an individual they did not know, but their parents had permitted the journey,”
In response, the Comptroller of Immigration, Ilela Command, Tony Akuneme, who conducted the interviews, summoned NAPTIP Sokoto State to handle the two victims and the suspected trafficker.
Akuneme restated his dedication to upholding the drive against Smuggling of Migrants (SOM) and Trafficking in Persons (TIPs) to reinforce the efforts of the CGI.
