Operatives of the Nigeria Immigration service NIS Seme border have intercepted 189 youths over alleged human trafficking.
The 189 youths between the ages of 15/20years were made to believe that they are going to Benin Republic for their university education which is supposed to be sponsored by a faith based organisation known as the afternoon church.
The youths who travelled in two batches came from Imo and Abia states before they were stopped at the seme border for proper documentation and it wss discovered that they did not have the required travel documents.
Acting comptroller General NIS Idris Jere who addressed the youths at the NIS zonal office Ikeja lagos say the children were brainwashed that they were going to further their education in Benin Republic, without any travel document or proof of admission as evidence.
He noted that the youths were unable to present any letter of admission or scholarship to the purported tertiary institution in Benin Republic.
He said that “Our findings indicated that the youths were deceived with promises of admission and scholarship by a faith based organisation operating in Nigeria. The unsuspecting and vulnerable victims were rescued in two batches.
92 on Saturday 22nd January 2022 and 97 on Monday 24th January 2022 respectively ”
He disclosed that further investigation reveals that “the victims believed that they were going to Emerald university in Republic of Benin, where they were purported to have been issued admission to study in different disciplines. They were unable to present evidence that the so called Emerald university is approved or registered in Benin Republic, nor approved by any federal ministry of education in Nigeria ”
Jere noted that the faith based organisation tapped into the youth desperation for further studies abroad and this obviously created alot of frustration amongst the youths and the faith based organisation took advantage of their vulnerability to defraud them of fifty thousand naira each and none of the victims could provide any travel documents.
Some of the youth however disclosed that they were going for genuine admission and not for any form of human trafficking as alleged by the Nigeria Immigration service NIS.
The Acting comptroller Gemeral Idris Jere handed the youths to officials of NAPTIP and charged youths to be mindful of offers or scholarships to travel abroad as it maybe for something else.
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