From Ayodele james
The Ondo State Police Command says it has arrested several suspected human traffickers and rescued 14 victims during recent operations across the state. Police spokesperson DSP Abayomi Jimoh revealed the development in a statement issued in Akure.
Jimoh said the operation followed a report from a Togolese man, Meale Yaoili, who told officers at Yaba Police Station on January 22 that he had escaped from a trafficking ring in Nigeria. Yaoili said he was deceived into traveling from Togo on the promise of securing work in Canada and was detained after his belongings were confiscated. Police later arrested six suspects linked to the case and rescued three victims from the location.
A separate investigation led authorities to uncover a transnational group involved in trafficking and related cross-border crimes. The case began after a complaint lodged at the Oba-Ile Divisional Headquarters on January 23 was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further inquiry.
Preliminary findings showed that the suspects were not bandits, as initially feared, but undocumented migrants from Chad housed in a duplex in Akure. Jimoh said the principal suspect, identified as Umaru Baba, allegedly recruited and harboured 12 individuals under the guise of offering commission-based marketing jobs. The group included eleven men and one woman, all believed to have been transported illegally into Nigeria.
The spokesperson noted that the foreign nationals were being treated as trafficking victims, while the arrested suspects provided statements regarding their roles. Police are also searching for the landlord of the property, who is wanted for questioning over alleged negligence.
Jimoh added that investigations are ongoing and the rescued victims will be handed over to their respective embassies. The Commissioner of Police warned landlords to scrutinize prospective tenants and reaffirmed the command’s commitment to tackling human trafficking and other trans-border crimes.
