An alleged human trafficking kingpin, Muritala Sanni, has been arrested in Lagos state after a four-year manhunt.
A non-governmental organisation, Kick against Human Trafficking and Human Rights Abuse Foundation facilitated the arrest and handover to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons for prosecution (NAPTIP)
It was gathered that Sanni was arrested last Wednesday, September 23, at his hideout in a hotel in the Amukoko area of the state by officers from the Amukoko Police Station.
Sanni was reportedly apprehended after one of his victims was used as a bait to trick him to the hotel.
According to the president of Kick against Human Trafficking and Human Rights Abuse Foundation, Ojay Akinwale, his arrest is a major success for the organisation, saying the suspect’s trafficking network cut across Libya and East Africa.
He narrated how the arrest was made, saying;
It has been a long battle and journey, and our people have never given up hunting for him. We have been looking for him since 2016, although our fight against human trafficking in Nigeria started in 2004. Before now, we alongside NAPTIP, have been able to arrest and get a conviction for some members of his gang, but Sanni and his wife, who died recently in Libya, have been evading arrest.
We resumed our efforts again about one month ago; when we were not making any headway, we decided to use one of his previous victims as bait. We do not know what has happened to him; he told the lady that he lost all his money. So, we made her play along and she told him that she would pay the hotel bills and other expenses.
Akinwale explained;
He was sceptical initially, but we continued to play along and not rushing things, until they fixed an appointment for Wednesday, September 23, 2020, for a hotel in Amukoko.
We tracked him down while they were at the hotel room with the assistance of the Divisional Police Officer of Amukoko. He gave us four policemen, who stormed the hotel with us and arrested him. Sanni is now with NAPTIP at Ikeja, as the agency that specialises in fighting human trafficking. But that’s not to say we are handing off the case; we will follow up the matter to a logical conclusion to get justice for his victims.
Confirming the arrest of the suspect, the Public Relations Officer (NAPTIP), Hajara Tunde-Osho, expressed that the suspect will be prosecuted after investigation.
She stated;
The suspect was arrested on Wednesday, September 23, 2020, and handed over to us on Thursday, September 24, 2020. We will carry out our investigation and prosecute him afterwards.
