The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has rescued 25 women believed to be victims of labour exploitation while they were being trafficked to Saudi Arabia.

NAPTIP’s Press Officer, Vincent Adekoye, confirmed the operation in a statement on Monday, noting that the victims were intercepted in front of a popular hotel in Wuse II, Abuja, where they had gathered while awaiting their trafficker.

The agency said the operation is part of a broader crackdown on trafficking networks that recruit Nigerians for illegal work in Middle Eastern countries. It further stated that a manhunt has been launched for a travel agency suspected of facilitating the recruitment of the victims.

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According to NAPTIP, the intervention is part of ongoing surveillance and monitoring activities in major state capitals nationwide. The agency recalled that its Director General, Binta Adamu Bello, OON, recently directed operatives to intensify monitoring following a surge in trafficking targeting vulnerable people from remote villages and communities.

“The directive also complements enhanced collaboration with sister law enforcement agencies and partners along red-flag routes,” the agency added.

During interrogation, the women, aged between 17 and 43, revealed that they were recruited from Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina States with promises of employment as domestic workers in Saudi Arabia.

“Some people came to our village and told my parents that they would assist me to travel abroad to work as a house help in Saudi Arabia. They assured us that the job there will pay us very well, and we will be able to come and take care of our parents and families. They asked us to come and wait for them here so that they would give us the travel document and the necessary instructions on how to go.

“They have not given us any documents, like an International Passport and a visa, and we are worried that none of them are here to attend to us as they promised,” one of the victims said.

Police Arrest Three ‘One Chance’ Suspects In Lagos

Operatives of the Lagos State Police Command, Ikeja Division, have apprehended a notorious “one chance” gang leader and two of his accomplices during a routine patrol along Agege Motor Road, Ikeja.

The suspects—Bode Oludayisin, Michael Sowunmi, and David Olawaye—were caught after a victim raised the alarm while being robbed inside their minibus.