Operatives of the Nasarawa State Police Command have rescued 39 foreign nationals, mostly Malians, who were allegedly being held against their will in a suspected human trafficking operation at Orange Market in Mararaba, Karu Local Government Area.
The victims — 32 males and seven females — include 38 citizens of Mali and one woman from Ivory Coast. None could communicate in any Nigerian language, showing their vulnerability in the country.
The breakthrough came after a distress report was lodged around 10:40 a.m. by Habi Baraji, a Malian national who speaks only French and Arabic. Baraji told police that he had been lured from Mali to Nigeria about a week earlier by a fellow Malian, Abdullahi Berter, with false promises of employment in France.
Upon arrival at Orange Market in Mararaba, Baraji quickly realized he had been deceived. He alleged that Berter began pressuring him to recruit additional persons from Mali for an unknown and suspicious purpose.
Fearing the worst, Baraji informed authorities that Berter was holding “many other victims” captive inside a house in the area.Acting on the intelligence, detectives were immediately deployed to the location, where they found the 39 foreigners confined inside a bungalow.
The victims were promptly evacuated and taken into protective custody.Police sources confirmed that the rescued individuals are currently undergoing profiling while efforts are underway to contact consular officials from Mali and Ivory Coast to facilitate their safe repatriation or further assistance.
The prime suspect, Abdullahi Berter, remains at large as investigations continue into what authorities believe may be a wider cross-border trafficking network exploiting job-seekers from West Africa with false promises of European opportunities.
Human trafficking remains a persistent challenge along Nigeria’s porous borders, with victims often transited through the country en route to North Africa or Europe.
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