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The police in Cross River State said they have apprehended a 35-year-old man, Victor Eyop, for the alleged trafficking of girls from Nigeria to Libya.
Gyogon Grimah, the commissioner of police in Cross River, confirmed this on Monday at a news conference in Calabar.
Mr Grimah explained that on 9 November, a man named Chidi Samuel, in Calabar, reported a case of human trafficking against the suspect.
He said that on that date, Mr Samuel claimed the suspect and his wife, Esther Eyop, allegedly recruited Deborah Nyong, 25.
“They also recruited two others, Ms Anita Lawrence, 25, and Ms Mabel Tom, 16, for human trafficking to Libya after they were tested for the Human Immune Virus (HIV) and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STIs).
“After the test, the suspect took them to his house and the next day gave them a substance they were to mix in their bath water for cleansing before embarking on the journey.
“On 12 November, the suspect and his wife drove the girls to Bogobiri Street in Calabar, where they booked tickets and transported them to Kaduna with arrangements with one Hajiya (names unknown) to receive the girls in Kaduna,” he said.
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The commissioner said while in Kaduna, a taxi driver was sent to pick up the girls and further transported them to Katsina. However, along the road to Katsina, the vehicle developed a fault.
Mr Grimah said it was at this point the victims realised they were being trafficked and started contacting people for help, and the complainant, Samuel, sent money to them through a Point of Sale (POS) operator along the road.
He said they used the money to board a taxi back to Kaduna and found their way back to Calabar on 15 November.
Mr Grimah said the suspect would be arraigned in court at the end of the investigation.
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During interrogation, the suspect claimed he did not know that what he did was an offence. He said he was only assisting people to travel out of the country.
“I am not a travel agent, but my sister is in Libya, it is through her that the girls are being taken to Libya.
“The girls were aware of the plan from inception that they would be taken to Katsina and from where ‘Hajiya’ would direct them on how to get to Libya,” he narrated.
(NAN)
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