A recent operation by Kano State Hisbah officers has led to the rescue of 16 minor girls who were being trafficked abroad.
The girls were intercepted at the Unguwa Uku bus terminal in Kano, where they were being loaded onto a truck bound for Lagos.
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According to Deputy Commander Mujahid Aminuddeen Abubakar, the girls were headed for Benin Republic and Ghana, where they would have been exploited. “Our officers at the bus terminal arrested the minor girls, who were unaware of the dangers that lay ahead,” Abubakar said.
Abubakar explained that the traffickers used Ghana as a transit point, providing the girls with fake travel documents that would be used to distribute them to Western countries. “These girls are innocent and vulnerable, and they have no idea that they will be exploited, sold into slavery, or forced into prostitution,” he said.
The rescued girls are all from northern Nigeria, with nine from Kano, four from Katsina, two from Jigawa, and one from Borno.
Abubakar noted that the traffickers had changed their tactics, using trucks to transport the girls instead of the Nigerien route.
Abubakar urged parents to be vigilant and prioritize their children’s safety above material wealth. “It’s shocking that some people are willing to pay large sums of money to be trafficked, despite the risks of rape, exploitation, and even death,” he said.
