Agency rescues 103 victims in nationwide raids, arrests 20 suspects as traffickers shift tactics to target tech-savvy youth
Behind the unassuming facades of hotels in Kano, Abuja, and Onitsha, a dark trade has been flourishing—one that treats human beings as commodities to be bought, sold, and shipped across borders. But over the past year, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons has been systematically dismantling these operations, rescuing over 100 victims and exposing the evolving tactics of modern slave traders.
Since 2024, NAPTIP operatives have raided at least eight hotels and similar facilities nationwide, rescuing 74 trafficked victims and arresting more than 20 suspects. But those numbers tell only part of the story.
The New Target: Tech-Savvy Youth
Perhaps most alarming is the shift in traffickers' recruitment strategy. Following the recent rescue of 23 Nigerians from trafficking rings in Thailand, the agency revealed a disturbing new pattern: traffickers now deliberately target "intelligent youths with computer and IT skills, as well as those with clean health records."
The victims, lured with promises of scholarships and lucrative employment, were instead forced into cyber-enabled crimes—romance scams, cryptocurrency fraud, and investment schemes—across Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.
The Onitsha Horror
On February 2, 2026, NAPTIP operatives, backed by military personnel, stormed a popular hotel near the 33 area of Onitsha, Anambra State. What they found inside was a chamber of horrors.
Seventeen victims were rescued, alongside four suspected traffickers and two individuals allegedly involved in buying and selling babies across the South-East. But the most devastating discovery came during medical screening: four of the rescued victims tested positive for HIV.
The women, recruited from Benue, Imo, Ebonyi, and Akwa Ibom states, had been trafficked to Onitsha for prostitution. Each was forced to remit between N20,000 and N25,000 daily to their handlers. Their "Madam," the victims revealed, had confiscated their antiretroviral medications and prevented them from accessing further medical care.
"I am most devastated by the health status of the rescued victims and the action of their so-called Madam who not only collected the antiretroviral medicines that were given to them, but also prevented them from accessing any further medical opportunity," said NAPTIP Director-General Binta Bello. "This is a criminal act, and NAPTIP has launched a manhunt for her."
Hotels as 'Muster Points'
The raids have exposed a troubling pattern: hotels across Nigeria are being used as staging grounds for trafficking operations.
In March 2025, NAPTIP raided a hotel at Zamaru, near the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, rescuing seven Iraq-bound victims and arresting the manager. The facility, investigators discovered, served as a "muster point" where victims were gathered, briefed on how to evade airport security, and rehearsed answers for law enforcement.
"Some of the service providers in the country aid and abet the recruitment, transportation, transfers, and harbouring of Nigerians who are victims of human trafficking," Bello said at the time.
The most recent raid occurred on February 12, 2026, when Kano Zonal Command operatives stormed a hotel in Sabon Gari and rescued seven women, aged 21 to 24, who were being prepared for trafficking to Baghdad, Iraq. Two suspects were arrested; a third remains at large.
The International Dimension
NAPTIP's operations extend far beyond Nigeria's borders. In 2025, working with international partners, the agency repatriated 78 Nigerian victims from Côte d'Ivoire—73 women, two men, and three infants. Four of the victims, mostly underage, were pregnant.
In June 2025, combined operations with the Defence Intelligence Agency dismantled a transnational trafficking network across the FCT, Osun, and Nasarawa states. Three suspects were arrested, and 20 foreign victims from Equatorial Guinea and Togo were rescued.
The February 2026 repatriation of 23 youths from Thailand marked another significant blow to international syndicates.
A Warning to Enablers
Bello, appointed by President Bola Tinubu on August 6, 2024, has been unequivocal in her warnings to those who facilitate trafficking. In February 2025, NAPTIP sealed a popular three-star hotel in Kwali, FCT, rescuing 11 underage girls suspected of being used for sexual exploitation. The owner was arrested.
Just a month earlier, operatives raided a private apartment in an upscale Ushafa estate, rescuing nine pregnant girls from what investigators described as a "baby factory."
"As unpleasant as the year 2025 was for the traffickers, we have deliberately scaled up our operations to address the evolving challenges and trends," Bello stated in January 2026.
The Road Ahead
Imaobong Ladipo-Sanusi, Executive Director of the Women Trafficking and Child Labour Eradication Foundation, emphasized that awareness campaigns must do more than warn—they must equip Nigerians with the information needed to make informed choices.
For NAPTIP, the fight is far from over. Traffickers are adapting, finding new routes, new methods, and new victims. But the agency's message remains unchanged: those who trade in human lives will face the full weight of the law.
As Bello warned hotel operators and other enablers: "This is a criminal act, and NAPTIP has launched a manhunt."
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