The stringent measures put in place by Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) Murtta Muhammed International Airport, Lagos Command to checkmate human trafficking have started yielding results with the arrest at the airport, of a couple in possession of stolen and fake passports.
The travellers, Melekwe Gift and Melekwe Peace arrested with stolen and fake international passports were on their way to India aboard a Qatar Airways flight on June 23, 2022.
A statement by Mrs. Louisa Amadiokoro,the Public Relations Officer (PRO), Lagos Airport Command of the Service, Mrs. Louisa Amadiokoro, stated that the suspect were arrested during an immigration clearance.
The statement quoted Kemi Nandap, an Assistant Comptroller-General, MMA Command as saying that the command had improved its surveillance and security measures in line with the policy of the Acting Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service, Isah Jere Idris.
Nandap who said the command has ensured drastic reduction in human trafficking through the airport, stressed that the arrested travellers claimed to be a couple, but regretted that they were in possession of a stolen passport and a fake passport, respectively.
She expressed that Melekwe Gift was in possession of a stolen passport that was watch-listed on the July 29, 2011, while Melekwe Peace was in possession of a fake passport revealed by the command’s forensic investigation.
However, the duo claimed to have obtained the passports through an agent named Yusuf.
She added: “Upon investigation, it was uncovered that the couple was travelling to seek greener pastures, which contradicted their earlier claim that Melekwe Gift was travelling for medical treatment- claiming she was suffering from leukemia, whereas she was perfectly healthy.
“Further investigation revealed that they were not a couple, but strangers that only met a day before their planned trip.”
Nandap explained further that Gift’s real names were Endurance Ofem Ikpi from Ugep, Cross Rivers state and was never married to Melekwe Peace, but was instructed by the agent to claim so.
Gift, in her confessional statement, allegedly claimed that her old friend, Tina who now resides in India introduced her to the idea of traveling with the promise that she would get her a job in India.
Nandap explained that the suspects were obviously traveling abroad in search of greener pastures and were also suspected victims of human trafficking.
The suspects after interrogation were handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for further necessary action.
