Trafficking: 8 Ghanaian ladies busted at Lagos airport
Officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) have arrested eight Ghanaian ladies for attempted human trafficking at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
It was learnt that the Ghanaians, arrested on Monday, had attempted to pass through the Lagos Airport to Kuwait via Egypt Air with the hope of crossing to Europe for prostitution.
But immigration officials at the command reportedly suspected the ladies immediately they approached the counters during boarding formalities.
A source at the airport said the immigration officials queried them on their mission out of the continent through Nigeria since they were holding Ghanaian passports.
The source said the ladies, who were between the ages of 20 and 25, confessed that they wanted to use Nigeria as an escape route to Europe.
According to the source, the ladies also confessed that they had entered Nigeria by road via Togo and Benin Republic, pointing out that their sponsors had advised them to use Nigeria as a transit point to Europe.
Names of some of the arrested girls were given as Tordro Gifty, 22; Odurowaa Millicent, 20; Abotsi Gift, 24 and Bisuat Fustina, 25.
They were eventually handed over to officials of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking In Persons (NAPTIP) who airport.
One of the sources told our correspondent that the arrest was made possible through the vigilance of the officers of the NIS.
He said: “During interrogation, the immigration officers discovered they actually entered Nigeria by road from Ghana to Togo and then to Benin Republic. However, it was clear from interrogation that they have no genuine reasons for travelling.
“Since the assumption of office of the current Comptroller-General of Immigration, Mr. Muhammed Babandede, there has been increased vigilance at not just the Lagos Airport, but at other border posts across the country.” drove them out of the