NAPTIP evacuates 93 Nigerian girls from Mali

The National Agencyfor the Prohibition ofTrafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has evacuated 93 Nigerians kept as sex slaves in Mali and nine suspected traffickers.The Executive Secretary of NAPTIP, Mrs Beatrice Jedy-Agba, made the statement at a press briefing on Tuesday in Abuja.She said the trafficked persons who were girls between the ages of 14 and 17 were successfully evacuated through the help of Malian authorities.Jedy-Agba said the operations to rescue the victims from Mali were necessitated by frequent reports from a variety of sources including the Nigerian Mission in Mali and Nigerians in diaspora about the entrenchment of a ruthless Nigerian human trafficking syndicate and the directive by the National Security Adviser to rescue and evacuate victims of such atrocious crime.NAPTIP Executive Secretary, who expressed delight that such a giant stride had been recorded in the agency, also expressed sadness that others were yet to be reached and rescued.She said, 'I feel delighted but at the same time, I feel sad because there are thousands more left behind. It was heartbreaking on Saturday when the girls came in, they were extremely traumatised, they had been subjected to so much abuse and my heart simply went out to all of them but fortunately they are healing.'The NAPTIP boss said the girls who were indigenes of about 17 states in the country, with Edo State having the highest number, were forced to sleep with a minimum of 30 men a day for the benefit of their traffickers.She disclosed that the victims, who were found in many brothels in Bamako, Mopti, Kayes, Sikasso, Gao, all in Mali along with nine suspected traffickers were presently being interrogated.She promised that the agency would take necessary steps towards their prosecution to serve as a deterrent to other human traffickers.
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