The Inspector – General of Police Intelligence Response Squad ( IRT ) has arrested 50-year-old, woman Ademola, for allegedly trafficking teenage foreigners for domestic servants across the country. She was arrested in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Ademola, described as international human trafficker was arrested when officials of the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP ) who were on her trail sought the assistance of the IGP Adamu Mohammed to track and apprehend the suspect.
It was gathered that trouble started for Ademola when a 17-year-old Togolese, Mary, who she allegedly trafficked to the Federal Capital Territory ( FCT) Abuja, to work as a house help sustained severe burns from a pressure cooker accident. It was learnt that Officials of NAPTIP were contacted when doctors at the hospital where the Togolese victim was being treated discovered that she was trafficked into the country illegally to work as a maid for a woman, Angel and her salary was being paid to Ademola.
Angel was arrested by the officials of NAPTIP in Abuja and she allegedly confessed during interrogations that she met Ademola who gave her the maid through another lady, Folake. When Folake was arrested, she told the NAPTIP officials that she did not know where Ademola was living. The development prompted a request to the IGP to deploy his IRT operatives headed by Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, to track and arrest Ademola.
Ademola told Cornerstone News that:” I am a widow and a native of Okitipuka, Ondo State, I was not aware that it was criminal to bring foreigners into the country and hire them to people. I went into the business since 2017. I used to travel to Okuta Kawara State, which has a border with the Benin Republic. I used to buy rice and vegetable oil from the market. Along the line, I met some young ladies who are not Nigerians and they told me that they would like to work in Nigeria. They needed my assistance and I offered to help them. That was how I started.
” I only have three boys to a poultry farmer in Sango Ota and their brother who brought them to work in Nigeria gave them to me and I got them the poultry job. They earn N12,000 each, monthly and I usually deduct N2,000 monthly from their salaries. The boys are not young but between the ages of 22 and 27. I also have three girls to Angel who resides in Abuja. I met her through Mrs Folake. The girls were between the ages of 17 and 23 years. I used Mary who got me into trouble to replace one of the girls.
One month ago, I learnt that Mary was involved in an accident, she tried to open a pressure pot that was being used to cook and the hot content poured on her body and injured her. I also gave Mrs Folake who is also a lawyer a girl and she worked for the woman for one year. Nobody told me it was criminal to bring foreigners into the country. I thought I was doing business “.
