NAPTIP intensifies nationwide crackdown on trafficking rings
Binta Bello and her team at the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) have ramped up efforts to combat human trafficking across Nigeria. The agency has carried out multiple raids in hotels and apartments, targeting traffickers and rescuing victims from various states and even abroad. Several operations have led to arrests and the dismantling of trafficking networks, with victims receiving support and care. Binta Bello continues to warn traffickers and their collaborators of severe consequences.
What we know
- NAPTIP has raided at least eight hotels and facilities nationwide since 2024, rescuing at least 74 victims and arresting over 20 suspects.
- On February 12, 2026, NAPTIP operatives rescued seven women in Kano who were being prepared for trafficking to Baghdad; two suspects were arrested.
- Just days earlier, on February 2, 2026, 17 victims were rescued in Onitsha, Anambra State, and four suspected traffickers were arrested, with some victims testing positive for HIV.
- In July 2025, three victims were rescued in Katsina, and in March 2025, seven Iraq-bound victims were rescued near Abuja airport.
- NAPTIP repatriated 23 Nigerian youths from Thailand in February 2026 after they were trafficked for cyber-enabled crimes; Binta Bello was appointed by President Bola Tinubu on August 6, 2024.
