The Nigeria Police Force has successfully rescued a 24-year-old Ghanaian victim of human trafficking and arrested five suspects in a coordinated operation led by operatives of INTERPOL Annex, FCID Alagbon, Lagos, in Ofada, Ogun State.
The rescue 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 trafficked into Nigeria in July 2025 by a 25-year-old Ghanaian woman, Hassana Abban, under the guise of facilitating their travel to Canada.
Abban allegedly collected 40,000 Ghanaian Cedis (approximately N4.96 million) from the victims for the fraudulent arrangement. Upon arrival in Nigeria, their international passports and mobile phones were seized, and they were coerced into operating suspected fraudulent online trading platforms.
Acting swiftly on the intelligence, police operatives tracked the victims’ location and rescued them on September 16, 2025. The operation also led to the arrest of the principal suspect, Hassana Abban, alongside four accomplices: Odubuasi David (Nigerian), Yahaya Salifu (Ghanaian), Sherifa Haruna (Ghanaian), and Ebenezer Ofosu (Ghanaian). All suspects are currently in custody as further investigations continue.
Confirming the development, Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Ben Hundeyin, said:“This successful rescue underscores the Nigeria Police Force’s commitment to combating human trafficking and protecting vulnerable persons, in collaboration with our international partners.
The suspects are in custody and will face the full weight of the law.”The victims have since been reunited with their family in Ghana.
Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, commended the professionalism of the operatives and reaffirmed the Force’s dedication to regional cooperation against transnational crimes.
“No criminal syndicate operating across borders will escape the long arm of the law,” he assured.
