NSCDC Rescues 24 Human Trafficking Victims, Arrests Three Suspects in Lagos

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has rescued 24 victims of human trafficking, including two pregnant women and a toddler, from an illegal confinement camp in Badagry, Lagos State, while arresting three suspects linked to the operation.

The victims, comprising 16 males, seven females and a one-and-a-half-year-old girl, were rescued during a raid conducted by NSCDC operatives in Itoga, Badagry, following intelligence reports on suspected trafficking and illegal detention activities in the area.

Speaking while parading the suspects and victims at the NSCDC Badagry Divisional Office in Ibereko, the Lagos State Command spokesperson, Oluwaseun Abolurin, said the operation was carried out on June 4 by officers led by the Divisional Officer, CSC Gbenga Ekunola.

The suspects arrested were identified as Medard Idowu and Shelian Wensu, both nationals of the Benin Republic, and Agbo Ledia, a Togolese national. Two other suspects are currently on the run.

Abolurin said investigations revealed that the suspects were involved in human trafficking, illegal migration, abduction, unlawful confinement and other criminal activities.

According to him, many of the victims, who are nationals of the Benin Republic and Togo, as well as one Nigerian from Imo State, had been held for months and in some cases years without contact with their families.

He alleged that the traffickers administered substances to victims through food and other consumables, causing memory loss and making it difficult for them to recall their identities or places of origin.

“Three of the victims last saw their families three years ago, nine months ago and six months ago respectively,” Abolurin said.

He disclosed that the traffickers forced victims to contact relatives and falsely claim they had been kidnapped or involved in accidents in order to extort money from their families.

“In this camp, victims were compelled to call family members and make false claims of kidnapping or accidents as part of a scheme to obtain money from unsuspecting relatives,” he said.

The NSCDC spokesperson lamented that many affected families had spent years searching for missing loved ones, visiting churches, mosques and traditional worship centres in desperate attempts to locate them.

He attributed the success of the operation to intelligence provided by residents and community stakeholders, noting that the agency remains committed to dismantling criminal networks involved in trafficking and illegal migration.

“We appreciate Lagos residents for the confidence reposed in the NSCDC. The information they provided enabled us to uncover and dismantle this inhumane camp and rescue the victims,” he said.

Abolurin added that the Lagos State Commandant, Adedotun Keshinro, had strengthened collaboration with other security agencies and relevant stakeholders to combat human trafficking and related crimes across the state.

He appealed to members of the public searching for missing relatives to come forward with relevant information, assuring that all rescued victims would undergo profiling to aid family reunification efforts.

One of the suspects, Shelian Wensu, admitted entering Nigeria without travel documents. He claimed he had been involved in network marketing and was residing with a friend in Ibereko, Badagry.

The NSCDC said investigations are ongoing and efforts have been intensified to apprehend the remaining suspects and unravel the full extent of the trafficking network.