The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has arrested a female suspected human trafficker who allegedly attempted to take two underage girls out of the country.
The arrest took place at the Alimosho Passport Front Office in Lagos state. The suspect, who was allegedly working for a human trafficking ring, had claimed that the girls were her daughters and required passports to travel out of the country.
Immigration officers, however, noticed discrepancies between the suspect’s age and the ages of the girls, leading to a probe. The suspect was later reported to have admitted that the girls were being recruited for commercial exploitation abroad.
The Passport Control Officer, Mrs Ayoola Malaolu, confirmed the arrest and commended the officers for their professionalism and dedication to duty.
She pledged to continue working professionally to stop traffickers and others with criminal intentions from obtaining travel documents.
Malaolu also urged passport applicants to follow the online application process and payment platform and to exercise patience while waiting to be attended to.
According to sources at the NIS, several human traffickers have been apprehended at the Alimosho Passport Front Office since it commenced operation on January 30.
Some of the traffickers had assumed that they could have their way easily at the new office. However, NIS officials scrutinize every application form and ensure due diligence.
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In some cases, officers have directed people who wanted to procure passports for adopted children to Abuja, as only the Comptroller General of Immigration has the final say on such issues.
The sources revealed that some of the traffickers attempted to pose as biological parents of the children they were trying to take overseas. However, they were uncovered by NIS officials who required certain documents that they failed to provide.
AGS NEWS 