The Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, Binta Lami Adamu Bello, recently shed light on how Nigerian man was lured into human trafficking with promises of fake job opportunity in Bahrain.
Speaking during a program on Channels Television, Bello recounted a case her agency handled involving a young Nigerian man deceived into trafficking.
“In my role as NAPTIP’s DG, we only handled one case of a 26-year-old man who was trafficked to Bahrain for sexual exploitation. It was the same story,
“He was told there was a job waiting for him in Bahrain, supposedly at an oil company. But upon arrival, he found himself in a brothel. He tried explaining to the woman in charge, saying, ‘No, this is not what I was told by the agent.’ But the woman simply said, ‘Young man, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I paid for you. So, you have to work here,” Bello explained.
The victim, according to Bello, was forced into prostitution for six months, during which he was made to have sexual relations with up to twenty women a day.
“He would wake up in the morning, and they would inject him with drugs to keep him able to perform with that many women. He was essentially a prisoner,” she recounted.
Eventually, the young man managed to escape with the help of someone, returning to Nigeria and reporting the ordeal to NAPTIP.
“We were able to use the information he provided to arrest two different trafficking rings, one in Anambra and the other in Lagos,” Bello stated.
She further noted that traffickers often rely on networks of brothels and motels to exploit their victims.
“These establishments either supply the victims or use their premises for the trafficking operations. The traffickers then receive a percentage of the money generated, primarily targeting women and girls,” she stressed.
This case highlights the dangers Nigerians face when deceived into thinking they are securing legitimate employment abroad, only to end up in horrific situations of exploitation.
Bello’s account underscores NAPTIP’s efforts to combat these trafficking rings and rescue victims from such abusive environments.
