NAPTIP Intercepts 13 Young Girls Being Tr@fficked to Iraq

Thirteen girls suspected of being trafficked for segxwal and labour exploitation have been stopped by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Tr@fficking in Persons (NAPTIP) on their way to Baghdad, Iraq.

In a statement released on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, NAPTIP press officer Vincent Adekoye said that the operation was carried out with partners’ support.

various anonymous, unregistered labour recruiters, who are thought to be representatives of a bigger illegal labour recruiting organisation that operates between Nigeria and various Middle Eastern countries, are accused of defr@uding and recruiting the girls, who range in age from 19 to 39.

Shortly prior to their departure for Iraq, they were incepted at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport in Abuja.

Following a tip from some worried partners who saw some unfamiliar faces moving strangely in the airport’s departure lounge with some shy-looking girls who were all giving the same response to various questions about their destination.

Speaking about the incident, NAPTIP Director General Binta Adamu Bello, OON, who saw the first group of five girls intercepted at the airport as they were leaving Abuja for an official assignment to Adamawa, expressed dissatisfaction with the tr@ffickers’ degree of dishonesty and urged parents and guardians to always be on the lookout for false promises for their children and wards.