Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Julie Okah-Donli, has revealed that the suspected traffickers of Ajayi Omolola threatened to amputate her hands if she was contacted by anyone.
Mrs Okah-Donli said this on Thursday in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja following the rescue of Ms Ajayi who was trafficked to Lebanon.
“It is important at this point to say that NAPTIP exercised serious caution in the rescue process because the traffickers, who were not ready to let her go, threatened to amputate her hands should anyone contact her,” she said.
Ajayi’s situation became known after she made a video from Lebanon. The 23-year-old said in the video that she was tricked into going to Lebanon to teach English Language but was converted into slavery.
Ajayi was rescued on Monday. She is still in the custody of the Nigerian Ambassador in Beirut, Lebanon, Goni Bura.
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) command in Kwara arrested three – a Lebanese and two Nigerians, one of them a lawyer – in connection with the recruitment and trafficking of the lady. The case has since been transferred to NAPTIP.
Okah-Donli, who also warned foreign nationals and other professionals in Nigeria who were aiding trafficking in the name of recruitment abroad, advised that all those involved should desist from the act.
“The conduct of some bodies who play prominent roles in trafficking Nigerians to volatile countries for sexual exploitation is highly unpatriotic,” she said.
The NAPTIP boss commended NSCDC for its role in the case, noting that their action demonstrated effective inter-agency collaboration.
