The Katsina State government has rescued 31 victims of human trafficking, sold in Benin Republic and taken to Burkina Faso.
31 victims of human trafficking, who were tricked and sold into slavery in Benin Republic to a Beninoise lady by one Alhaji Usman from Kankara town in Katsina state, now at large, have returned to Katsina.
A Press Release from Abdul Labaran Malumfashi, DG Media, and made available to newsmen in Katsina on Tuesday, said seven of the victims who were initially sold in Benin Republic and later taken to Burkina Faso, had earlier been assisted to return to Nigeria by the Nigerian Embassy in Burkina Faso
He said ‘’Contrary to the news making the rounds in the social and new media, the 31 Katsina State citizens were not kidnapped but tricked and sold into slavery in Benin Republic to a Beninoise lady by one Alhaji Usman from Kankara town, whose mobile phone numbers are in the possession of security and other government officials’’.
‘’The Benin lady thereafter took her ‘slaves’ to Gaoua, a town 150 kilometers from Ouagadougou, the Burkina Faso capital, where she kept them in servitude without food or money. The lady was later apprehended by the local authorities in Gaoua.”
The release further added that the remaining 24 victims were due to arrive in Katsina on Tuesday to be received by Governor Aminu Bello Masari at the Government House in Katsina
Mr. Labaran further added that the release of the victims was also facilitated by the Nigerian Ambassador to Burkina Faso, Hajiya Rahmatu Ahmed who contacted and informed the Katsina State Government about the plight of the trafficked victims, currently under the care of the Chief of the Hausa community in Ouagadougou.
He said on receiving the information, Governor Masari dispatched the Special Adviser on Drugs, Narcotics and Trafficking, Alhaji Hamza Brodo with a 30-seater luxury bus to go Ouagadougou and bring back the remaining 24 victims.