Operatives of the National Agency for the
Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) have finally arrested some
members of a syndicate, which specialized in sending Nigerian girls to Dubai for
prostitution.
Investigation revealed that the syndicate used to
lure unsuspecting Nigerian girls to Dubai and force them into prostitution. The
girls would be made to strip naked and their nudeness videotaped and later used
to blackmail them into submission.
The syndicate is behind two videos which went viral
some weeks back on the social media. The videos showed two girls, stark naked,
promising a woman, rolling the tape that they would never run away with her
money. They had further taken an oath that calamitous events would befall them
if they fail to keep to their promise.
Addressing journalists at NAPTIP Lagos, Office,
Ikeja, Assistant Director, Head, Press and Public Relations, Mr. Josiah
Emerole, said that NAPTIP was already working with Nigeria Intelligence Agency
(NIA) and an international agency to arrest other fleeing madams in Dubai.
He noted that presently, five suspected madams had
been arrested in Nigeria.
He mentioned that Blessing Gabriel 25,
who is the prime suspect, Precious Ejiro Owoh, 29, Rose Gabriel, 25, Priscilla a.k.a
Prisca Effiong Bassey, 33 and Terry Homuere Smooth, 38, had all being arrested.
Emerole said: “Early
August 2015, the media, especially the social media was awash with nude visuals
of two of our citizens, Ann and Chisom, filmed and uploaded by some of our
unpatriotic citizens engaged in trafficking of girls from Nigeria to Dubai, the
United Arab Emirate for sexual exploitation.
“The nude visuals
which caused some uproar within many circles in Nigeria and raised questions among
our international partners showed the two girls being forced to swear to an
oath of allegiance separately while nude. They were made to claim that they
came to Dubai on their own volition to engage in prostitution and ready to obey
their madams without reporting to anybody. The women that filmed the video
threatened to upload the nude visuals if the girls did not act accordingly. The
blackmail videos are part of the Dubai Syndicate’s control mechanism which also
includes oath taking, and confiscation of travel documents to ensure obedience
and submission.”
Emerole explained that based on this despicable and
criminal act, NAPTIP, which is the nation’s focal Agency in the fight against human trafficking went into
action in collaboration with other sister law enforcement agencies locally and
internationally to fish out these criminals and their agents in Nigeria and to
rescue the victims.
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