The Nasarawa State Police Command has rescued 39 foreign nationals who were reportedly held in a suspected human-trafficking house in the Mararaba area of Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
As gathered, the victims, 32 males and seven females, were all from Mali, except for one woman who was said to be an Ivorian national.
The breakthrough came after one migrant managed to escape from the syndicate’s control and sought help from authorities, prompting detectives to act on what they later described as “credible and urgent intelligence.”
The incident came to light after a Malian national, identified as Habi Baraji, filed a report revealing that he had been deceived into travelling to Nigeria by a man known as Abdullahi Berter, who allegedly promised to secure him a job in France.
Baraji explained that his hopes were dashed shortly after he arrived in Nasarawa, where he realised the promise had been a ruse and that Berter had begun pressuring him to lure more people from Mali for unclear motives.
Acting on the report, detectives moved to a bungalow in the area and discovered 39 foreigners packed inside a single structure.
Officers noted that none of the victims could communicate in any local Nigerian language, further indicating how isolated they had been kept.
A source within the operation added that the rescued migrants are now in protective custody, where they will undergo profiling before authorities establish contact with consular officials from Mali and Ivory Coast.
Meanwhile, the suspected trafficker, Abdullahi Berter, believed to be part of a wider trafficking network—is currently on the run, and police officers are searching for him.
