The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has paraded and Abuja-based pastor with the Redeemed Christian Church Of God (RCCG), Phillip, alongside an Abuja Airport Taxi driver, James, and a traditional chief, Etik, for alleged sexual violence against minors.
Pastor Phillip was alleged to have sexually violated his 17-year-old housemaid repeatedly. The airport taxi driver, James, was also alleged to have drugged a neighbour’s 17-year-old daughter and sexually violated her for several days while Etik was alleged to have lured his 13-year-old female victim with a piece of cake and raped her repeatedly.
Director-general of NAPTIP, Julie Okah-Donli, who paraded the suspects at NAPTIP’s headquarters in Abuja, added that two human traffickers, Oluwafemi and Asia, were caught at different locations by NAPTIP officials as they tried to traffick some Nigerians to Finland and Libya, respectively.
The NAPTIP boss, who was represented by the agency’s director of investigation, Josiah Emerole, explained that Oluwafemi was caught at the Finland embassy in Abuja while he was putting finishing touches to his plan to traffic 12 persons to Finland in the guise of embarking on study tour of health facilities in Finland.
The NAPTIP official said: “In a letter, the suspect claimed to be of the Hospital Management Board of Ogun State. In another letter, he claimed to be another senior Nigerian government official. All was for him to easily get visa for the people he had wanted to traffic to Finland.”
Asia, 33, from Edo State, was said to have concluded plans to traffick seven persons to Libya.
She confessed that three of the victims were her children, one was her boyfriend, others were children of friend and relatives.
The agency said the suspect and her victims were intercepted by officers of Nigerian Immigration Service in Katsina State and were handed over to NAPTIP for more investigation and rehabilitation.
It said that the suspects confessed to the crime and are currently in NAPTIP custody, while investigations continue.
“They would appear in court as soon as possible,” the agency said.
