The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Benue State Command, says it has arrested a suspected human trafficker with six girls prepared to be trafficked to Burkina Faso.
The State Commandant of the Corps, Philip Okoh, who paraded the suspect and the victims on Tuesday, said the suspect identified as Mnena Kwaghmande, was reportedly intercepted in the Gboko area of Benue on January 5, 2022, with the victims, all ready to travel to Burkina Faso.
He added that the suspect confessed to deceiving the victims’ parents that they would be helping her in her restaurant in Burkina Faso.
The girls were reportedly picked from the Vandeikya Local Government Area of the state.
Okoh said, “We have a seasoned trafficker who goes about luring unsuspecting parents by convincing them that they were going abroad for greener pastures. Investigation has revealed that they were taking them to Burkina Faso. We did this operation in conjunction with NAPTIP.”
The Commandant cautioned parents against releasing their children to people who promised greener pastures abroad.
The victims who were aged between 16 and 20, in a chat with journalists, disclosed that the suspect, whom they identified as their relative, had told their parents that she was sick and therefore needed them to go with her to Burkina Faso so that they could help sell food at her restaurant.
