Nigeria Immigration Service at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos has foiled the plan by human traffickers to fly 10 Nigerian children to Russia, taking advantage of the relaxed visa rules due to the World Cup tournament being hosted by the country.
This was disclosed by the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and according to Reuters, five suspects, including a policeman Matthew Esan and a quarantine officer, were arrested at MMIA, allegedly recruiting the victims who were10 in number: nine girls and one boy, and facilitating their travel.
But the Nigerian police have denied Esan was involved in child trafficking.
Luck ran out of the traffickers when the children, who were all in possession of a FIFA fan pass indicating they were going to attend the World Cup, were intercepted by officials as they tried to board a flight to Moscow on Saturday night, but were stopped from boarding when staff noticed they only had one-way tickets.
Reuters said officials in Nigeria said last month they had intelligence showing plans were underway to traffic local women to Russia for the World Cup, taking advantage of Moscow’s decision to let spectators enter the country with just a ticket and a fan pass.
It was learnt from top Immigration official that Immigration reinforces efforts during this period because human traffickers from certain parts of the country take advantage of the relaxed visa rules and free movement to fly many people out of Nigeria.
NAPTIP’s director Julie Okah-Donli said in a statement, “The agency will not give traffickers any opportunity to use the World Cup to ferry Nigerians out into a life of misery abroad.”
Reuters reported that visa-free entry to Russia was allowed at the Confederations Cup in Moscow last year, and would apply to the entire World Cup, which runs across 11 Russian cities from June 14 to July 15.
Head of Russian anti-slavery group Alternativa, Julia Siluyanova said some unscrupulous people were taking advantage of relaxed visa rules, adding that many women and girls have been lured from Nigeria in recent years with promises of work and good wages only to end up sold for sex and trapped in debt bondage, and the World Cup could see the number of victims arriving in Russia rise.
NAPTIP said it is also trying to crack down on the trafficking of thousands of Nigerian women and girls to Europe, who take boats from Libya to Italy, before being trapped in sex work.
Reuters also reported that the number of female Nigerians arriving in Italy by boat surged to more than 11,000 in 2016 from 1,500 in 2014, with at least four in five forced into prostitution, according to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
In a statement on Tuesday, the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA),Ikeja Police Command on Tuesday debunked the claim that one of its officers, Insp. Matthew Esan, was involved in human trafficking at the airport.
The spokesperson for the command, DSP Joseph Alabi, who made the denial while speaking with newsmen in Lagos, maintained that Esan’s arrest was carried out in error by operatives of NAPTIP.
Alabi said investigations by the command showed that the officer was arrested by overzealous NAPTIP operatives while carrying out his legitimate duties at the airport terminal.
” On June 9,2018 ,at about 7.30pm, one Insp. Matthew Esan attached to Airport Police Command, Ikeja, while on duty at MMIA departure hall, received one Henry who claimed he was sent to him. While trying to get acquainted with the said person, some men who were later discovered to be NAPTIP operatives descended on him, and seized his phone as well as police Identity Card,” he said.
“The officer was later told that he was among a syndicate trafficking young Nigerians to the forthcoming FIFA World Cup in Russia and was later taken to the NAPTIP office alongside some other arrested persons and 10 rescued youths.
However, Alabi said following the intervention of the command, Esan was released on Monday after the arrested persons confirmed that they did not know him.
