The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has rescued a 24-year-old Ghanaian victim of human trafficking and arrested five suspects in a coordinated operation conducted by operatives of the INTERPOL Annex, Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Alagbon, Lagos, in Ofada, Ogun State.
The operation, according to a police statement, followed a formal request for assistance from the National Central Bureau (NCB) Accra on September 15, 2025.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the victim and his father were allegedly trafficked into Nigeria in July 2025 by one Hassana Abban, a 25-year-old Ghanaian woman residing in Ofada.
Abban is said to have collected 40,000 Cedis (approximately ₦4.96 million) from the victims under the pretext of facilitating their travel to Canada.
However, upon their arrival in Nigeria, their Ghanaian passports and mobile phones were seized, and they were forced into activities linked to fraudulent online trading platforms.
Following the alert from INTERPOL Accra, a special team of Nigerian police operatives traced the victims and successfully rescued them on September 16, 2025.
The operation also led to the arrest of Abban and four of her accomplices: Odubuasi David, a Nigerian, and three Ghanaians, Yahaya Salifu, Sherifa Haruna, and Ebenezer Ofosu.
The police confirmed that all five suspects are currently in custody while further investigations continue. The rescued victims have since been reunited with their family in Ghana.
Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, commended the professionalism of the operatives and reaffirmed the Force’s commitment to cross-border cooperation in the fight against human trafficking and transnational crimes.
He assured the public and international partners that “no criminal syndicate operating across borders will escape the long arm of the law.”
