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NAPTIP Rescues Seven Girls From Iraq-bound Trafficking Ring In Abuja Hotel

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The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons said it rescued seven young women believed to be victims of human trafficking after it raided a popular hotel in Zamaru, a few kilometres from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The girls “were being prepared to be trafficked to Baghdad, Iraq, for exploitation,” NAPTIP’s Chief Press Officer, Vincent Adekoye, revealed in a statement Sunday evening.

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The statement was titled ‘NAPTIP raids popular hotel near Abuja Airport harbouring Iraq–bound suspected human trafficking victims, rescues 7 victims.’

Adekoye said the operation, which followed a tip-off, also led to the arrest of the hotel manager, who is currently being interrogated for allegedly harbouring the victims.

READ ALSO: SERAP Drags Tinubu To Court Over Fubara, Deputy, Lawmakers’ Suspension

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The hotel had been under surveillance after concerned persons raised alarm over the unusual movement of young girls and strange-looking men within the premises—signs, NAPTIP says, pointed to the presence of a trafficking ring.

A preliminary profiling of the rescued victims revealed that six of them were recruited from Lagos, while one hails from Delta State.

They were allegedly lured with promises of “well-paying caregiving jobs in Iraq but later discovered they were being trafficked,” the statement read.

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“They told me that I will do a househelp job in Baghdad and I will receive good salary every month.

READ ALSO: Another Explosion Rocks Gas Facility In Rivers State

“I believed them because I think say Baghdad is in another country. Them no tell me say I dey go work for Iraq,” one of the victims tearfully recounted, Adekoye wrote.

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This latest rescue adds to a growing number of interceptions by NAPTIP, which said it has prevented over 60 suspected victims from being trafficked through the Abuja airport in recent months to volatile and war-torn Middle East countries.

Reacting to the development, NAPTIP’s Director-General, Binta Bello, expressed deep concern over the involvement of service providers in human trafficking, noting that the hotel served as a “muster point” for traffickers operating between Nigeria and the Middle East.

Represented by the Director of Research and Programme Development, Mr. Josiah Emerole, the DG stated, “It is sad the way some service providers aid and abet the recruitment, transportation, transfer, and harbouring of Nigerians who are victims of human trafficking.

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“The suspected victims are trafficked from different parts of the country and harboured in the hotel.

READ ALSO: NDLEA Intercepts Indian Lady With 72 Parcels Of Heroin ON n Chocolate Wraps

“The victims were being briefed on how to evade arrest and respond to questioning at the airport,” she added, noting that harbouring victims of trafficking is itself a punishable offence under the law.”

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Bello warned that the agency would now invoke the full weight of the law to prosecute individuals or entities found complicit in trafficking activities.

NAPTIP said it has intensified its manhunt for other members of the trafficking network believed to be operating in collaboration with criminal syndicates in Iraq.

The Manager of the hotel is being quizzed and we have also intensified the manhunt for other members of the trafficking gang working in collaboration with other criminal elements in Iraq,” the DG stated.

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JUST IN: Yinka Ayefele In Tears As Fire Guts Fresh FM

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A fire outbreak has been reported at a popular Ibadan-based radio station, Fresh FM, at Felele area in Ibadan South-West local government area of the state capital on Friday.

The incident, which started a few hours ago, has disrupted other related activities at the station.

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Newsmen could not confirm neither the cause nor extent of the damage as at the time of filing this report.

READ ALSO: BREAKING: Heavy Gunfire As Benue Community Comes Under Attack

Confirming the incident in a telephone chat, the General Manager, Oyo State Fire Services, Rev Akinyemi Akinyinka said, “our men are on the ground. The situation is under control.”

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Founded by popular musician and broadcaster, Yinka Ayefele, Fresh FM is one of the most listened-to radio stations in Ibadan.

Click link below to watch video:

https://cdn.pmnewsnigeria.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/4YarRfs4-AQPEpS7eh4Sj40BSksJ46sTcwVZZAOsq-ibfVmfuQPhOk5ETRyO-ynZLu4qMgK2n6JR220C0oTevEDxrkfItsdBP66n3H7KR0u2_EYfLrs2ZsQ.mp4?_=1

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Lagos Woman Remanded For False Foreign Currency Declaration

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A Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday remanded Ifunanya Phil-Olumba in the Kirikiri Correctional Centre over allegations of falsely declaring and failing to declare foreign currency totaling $14,567, £1,030, and CA$40 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had preferred three counts against the defendant, accusing her of making false declarations to the Nigeria Customs Service and failing to declare foreign currency, contrary to Section 3(5) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

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At the resumed proceedings, before Justice Dehinde Dipeolu, the prosecution, led by Okezie Chineye, called two witnesses.

The first prosecution witness, an officer of the Nigeria Customs Service, Mrs. Stella Ogar, told the court that the defendant was intercepted during inward clearance from the United Kingdom.

READ ALSO:Hoodlums Loot, Vandalise FG’s 80-bed Specialist Hospital In Oyo

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According to Ogar, the defendant declared only CA$4,000, despite allegedly being in possession of CA$14,000, alongside other undeclared sums.

We arrested her and handed her over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for further investigation,” Ogar testified.

The second prosecution witness, an EFCC operative, Felicia Paul, confirmed that the defendant was handed over to the commission by the customs.

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She stated that the defendant was interrogated and opted to make a written statement, which the prosecution sought to tender in evidence.

READ ALSO:FULL LIST: FG Approves Nine New Private Varsities

However, defence counsel, Edwin Anikwem, objected to the admissibility of the statement, contending that it was not obtained voluntarily and was made without the presence of counsel, contrary to legal requirements.

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However, Justice Dipeolu adjourned further hearing to August 19 for continuation of the trial.

The EFCC alleged that on July 22, 2025, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, the defendant falsely declared the sum of $4,000 while in possession of $14,567; failed to declare CA$40; and falsely declared £1,000 while in possession of £1,030.

According to the anti-graft agency, the offences committed contravened Section 3(5) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

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Two Varsity Students Die In Bayelsa Road Crash

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A head-on collision between a truck and a commercial tricycle on the Yenagoa/Amassoma Road, Bayelsa State, has claimed the lives of two students from Niger Delta University, Amassoma.

The accident which occurred on Wednesday also left other passengers of the ill-fated tricycle critically injured.

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Residents attributed the accident to absence of road signs and overspending by drivers as the crash occurred at a bend on the road.

The truck negotiated the bend at high speed, lost control and hit the tricycle at top speed, crushing it.

READ ALSO:Gunmen kill community leader in Bayelsa

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A trader, Godspower Okilo told The PUNCH on Thursday that the truck driver was moving too fast, and by the time he realised the danger, it was already too late.

He said, “The Keke (tricycle) had no chance of escaping the danger because the tipper was already close to it.
“We’ve been complaining about reckless truck drivers on this road for years, but nothing changes.

“The dangerous impact left the tricycle damaged beyond recognition. Good Samaritans rushed to the scene, pulling survivors from the wreckage and transporting the injured to the Federal Medical Centre in Yenagoa.

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“The bodies of the deceased were later evacuated to a nearby morgue.

READ ALSO:Four Sentenced To Death For Killing Driver In Bayelsa

This incident has renewed calls for stricter traffic enforcement, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the State Police Command should intensify patrols, introduce speed breakers, and conduct regular safety checks on heavy-duty vehicles.”

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Another resident of the area, Mrs. Ebike Ekain, said if the appropriate authorities do not act now, more lives will be lost to accidents in the nearest future.

The Yenagoa/Amassoma Road is without doubt the most dangerous road in Bayelsa State due to the number of accidents that occur every year.
The reconstruction of the stretch from the Etegwe Roundabout to Tombia Community resulted in several turns which motorists do not consider as they often drive at dangerous speeds.

READ ALSO:Cultists Hack Two Graduates To Death In Bayelsa

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The Federal Road Safety Commission usually dispatches an ambulance to the road which is stationed at Tombia Community and sometimes at the roundabout leading to Agudama-Ekpetiama Community.

Spokesman for the Bayelsa State Police Command, DSP Musa Muhammad, who confirmed the accident, said investigation is ongoing to unravel the cause of the accident.

Yes, an accident happened there and we are investigating the causes of the accident,” he stated.

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