The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Borno State Command, has intercepted a man suspected to be a human trafficker and rescued 59 victims en route to N’Djamena through the Nigeria–Chad Republic border.

The suspect, identified as Ismaila Alhassan from Katsina State, was apprehended by NIS operatives while travelling without valid passports and other travel documents.

The Comptroller of the NIS in the state, MT Musa, who paraded the suspect at the Service headquarters in Maiduguri on Tuesday, said the rescued victims were all female and also from Katsina State.

According to him, the trafficker was arrested through an established community intelligence network put in place by the NIS in border communities.

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“Upon assumption of office, I visited Banki, Gambarou and other border communities, where I strengthened service relations with the locals. We leveraged these contacts to uncover the trafficker and rescue the victims,” he said.

“The victims started their journey from Katsina to Maiduguri and Gambarou border with the intention of crossing into Chad without travel documents,” he added.

He said investigations revealed that the suspect lured the victims with promises of fake jobs in Chad, warning them against taking such risks, noting that organ harvesting and other forms of exploitation are rampant.

The Comptroller expressed the Service’s readiness to reactivate strategic checkpoints to curb human trafficking and other related offences before suspects reach border areas.

He added that both the suspect and the victims would be handed over to the zonal office of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for further investigation and necessary action. (Daily Trust)