Police operatives in Edo State have rescued seven teenagers from suspected traffickers in the state.
The state’s Commissioner of Police, Philip Ogbadu, who disclosed this to journalists in Benin on Friday, said the victims were rescued from the suspects following an intelligence received from members of the public.
He said the victims who were intercepted on Thursday were allegedly billed to be trafficked to Cote d’Ivoire and Libya.
The police commissioner added that the victims were six girls and one boy aged between 16 and 20 years.
Oghadu said: “The girls, who disguised as Muslims by wearing hijab, were intercepted by the police at Isihor police check-point, Benin City, on the Benin-Lagos highway on Thursday.”
He said the victims who are from Delta, Edo, and Enugu States but staying in Edo were allegedly recruited for the journey by a relation to one of them.
The CP added: “They are minors, six girls and one boy. On interrogation, we found out they were being trafficked to Cote d’Ivoire by a relation to one of them.
It is a case of trafficking. They will be handed over to National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Person (NAPTIP) for rehabilitation.”