The Edo State Taskforce on Human Trafficking announced on Wednesday the arrest of an alleged human trafficker, Juliet Ukhurebor.
The agency reported that Ukhurebor specializes in forcing her victims to take oaths before trafficking them abroad.
Speaking to journalists in Benin, Mrs. Pauline Irusota, Secretary of the Taskforce, stated that Ukhurebor and another woman, Joy Osawe, were apprehended following a petition by a 25-year-old woman, Rita Godwin.
Irusota revealed that Ukhurebor, in collaboration with her daughter in India, forged Ghanaian passports and other documents to smuggle their victims to India. One of the victims, Juliet Osagie, was successfully trafficked to India.
According to Irusota, the prime suspect only informed the victims after the oath that they were being trafficked to India for prostitution. Upon learning this, Godwin refused to complete the final leg of the journey to Abuja en route to India.
“After the petitioner refused to travel to India, the prime suspect and a native doctor from Enugu State began threatening her to pay ₦8 million, the amount spent on processing her travel documents,” Irusota added.
The prime suspect was arrested at her shrine, where investigators recovered a native pot containing concoctions as evidence.
Confirming Irusota’s statements, the 42-year-old Ukhurebor admitted to making her victims swear oaths before traveling to ensure they obeyed instructions.
She explained, “I acted on the instructions of my India-based daughter, who requested a female nanny from Nigeria. My daughter asked them to take an oath because she spent money on their travel documents, to prevent them from absconding or refusing to repay her expenses.”
