Police arrest suspect over alleged trafficking of Nigerian girls to Libya
A 35-year-old man, Victor Eyop, has been arrested by the Cross River State Police Command for the alleged trafficking of girls from Nigeria to Libya, and during interrogation the suspect claimed he did not know what he did was an offence, but was only assisting people to travel out of the country.
Penpushing reports that Commissioner of Police Gyogon Grimah, confirmed this development on Monday at a press conference in Calabar, explaining that on November 9, 2024 a man identified as Chidi Samuel, in Calabar, reported a case of human trafficking against the suspect.
“I am not a travel agent, but my sister is in Libya, it is through her that the girls are being taken to Libya. The girls were aware of the plan from inception that they would be taken to Katsina and from where ‘Hajiya’ would direct them on how to get to Libya’, the suspect said.
Penpushing further reports that the police boss, however, added that on that date, Samuel claimed the suspect and his wife, Esther Eyop, allegedly recruited a 25-year-old lady, Deborah Nyon, and also recruited two others, Anita Lawrence and Mabel Tom for human trafficking to Libya .
“They also recruited two others, Ms Anita Lawrence, 25, and Ms Mabel Tom, 16, for human trafficking to Libya after they were tested for the Human Immune Virus (HIV) and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STIs)’, he stated.
“After the test, the suspect took them to his house and the next day gave them a substance they were to mix in their bath water for cleansing before embarking on the journey’, the police commissioner emphasised.
“On 12 November, the suspect and his wife drove the girls to Bogobiri Street in Calabar, where they booked tickets and transported them to Kaduna with arrangements with one Hajiya (names unknown) to receive the girls in Kaduna,” he said.
Penpushing also reports that the commissioner explained that while in Kaduna, a taxi driver was sent to pick up the girls and later transported them to Katsina, adding that along the road to Katsina, the vehicle developed a fault.
The police boss stated that it was at this point the victims realised they were being trafficked and started contacting people for help, and the complainant, Samuel, sent money to them through a Point of Sale (POS) operator along the road.
Penpushing reports that Grimah said the victims used the money to board a taxi back to Kaduna and found their way back to Calabar on November 15, 2024, assuring that the suspect would be arraigned in court at the end of the investigation.
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