Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has rescued 24 suspected victims of human trafficking and arrested three suspects during a raid in Badagry, Lagos State, less than three months after a similar operation in the Ilado-Ogudu area of Olorunda Local Council Development Area (LCDA).
Gatekeepers News reports that the rescued victims comprise 16 males, seven females and a toddler, while the suspects include two men and one woman. Two other suspects are currently on the run.
Among the victims were two pregnant women and a one-and-a-half-year-old girl. Authorities disclosed that the women became pregnant while being held at the facility.
The suspects were identified as Medard Idowu from the Benin Republic, Agbo Ledia from Togo and Shelian Wensu from the Benin Republic.
The operation was carried out on Thursday, June 4, by NSCDC operatives led by the Divisional Officer of the Badagry Division, CSC Gbenga Ekunola, following intelligence reports. The raid targeted multiple locations, including a bungalow in Itoga, Badagry.
Speaking while parading the suspects at the NSCDC Divisional Office in Ibereko, the agency’s spokesperson in Lagos State, Oluwaseun Abolurin, said preliminary investigations linked the suspects to human trafficking, illegal migration and cases involving missing persons.
“The suspects are also linked to illegal migration, human trafficking, the abduction of unsuspecting individuals, luring people into perpetrating criminal acts, and keeping victims in illegal confinement. The victims are from the Benin Republic and Togo, as well as one Nigerian male from Imo State,” he said.
Abolurin alleged that the victims were subjected to practices designed to disorient them and sever contact with their families.
“The suspects allegedly forced their victims to consume substances injected into items, including food, causing memory loss and making them unable to remember where they came from. Three of the victims last saw their families three years ago, nine months ago, and six months ago, respectively,” he stated.
Speaking on behalf of the Lagos State Commandant of the NSCDC, Adedotun Keshinro, Abolurin further alleged that the suspects compelled victims to contact their relatives under false pretences in an effort to extort money.
“In this camp, the suspects forced the victims to call their family members and falsely claim that they were accident or kidnapping victims in a bid to extort money from them,” he said.
“Many family members have gone to churches, mosques and traditionalists seeking help to locate their children. Some even performed sacrifices, but unfortunately, none yielded results.”
He credited the success of the operation to intelligence provided by residents and community engagement.
“With credible and actionable intelligence obtained through community engagement, the NSCDC in Lagos has been able to identify these criminals and rescue the victims. We appreciate Lagos residents for trusting the NSCDC with information that has enabled us to dismantle this inhumane camp and arrest the suspects.”
Abolurin added that the command was strengthening collaboration with other security agencies and stakeholders to combat trafficking and related crimes across the state.
“The Commandant has put mechanisms in place to ensure synergy with all security agencies and relevant stakeholders to root out such criminal activities within our jurisdiction,” he said.
He also appealed to families searching for missing relatives to come forward with relevant information, noting that many of the rescued victims appeared unable to recall their identities or places of origin.
“The unfortunate reality is that most of the victims do not know what they are doing or where they came from.
“We appeal to anyone searching for missing loved ones to come forward with relevant details. We will profile the victims to determine whether any of them are among those being sought.”
One of the suspects, Shelian Wensu, told journalists that he entered Nigeria without travel documents and stayed with a friend in Ibereko after arriving in Badagry.
“I worked in network marketing, selling products. I do not know the owner of the building where we were housed,” he said.
