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Ebiredelu Bako, an Edo State high chief has been apprehended by the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) for human trafficking.

Mr Bako, according to the immigration service, was
apprehended at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA),
Lagos, on his way to Turkey last week, and was found to be with two
ladies that he could not reasonably account for.

“The chief that we have here was travelling to Turkey
and he was travelling with these two ladies. We discovered during our
interrogation that he could not give us any convincing reason for
travelling with the two ladies,” said Lasun Olaitan, State Controller
NIS, during a press briefing at the Service’s headquarters in Lagos.

Mr Olaitan disclosed that it is an onus due the
Service to stop people from travelling out of the country with children
and ladies without credible explanations, stressing that this is
because human traffickers are on the prowl.

“We don’t allow people to travel out with these young
ladies unless they give us genuine reasons before we can allow them to
travel and this is mainly because of the issue of human trafficking,”
he said.

The State Immigration boss disclosed that the
suspect, with the Ebiredelu of Emuhi title from West Local Government
Area of Edo State, was in possession of an official passport which is
not expected of him, adding that the Service is investigating the
matter.

“We discovered that the chief is travelling with an
official passport, and an official passport is supposed to be held by a
government official of the country,” he said. “It is not something that
members of the public can hold, unless they are working with the
federal or state government. In short, they must be working with the
government for them to hold an official passport. We are trying to
investigate how chief came about the official passport.” According to
Mr Olaitan, the chief had been arrested in the past by the Service with
some ladies, as he further disclosed that the NIS has decided to hand
over the case to the right quarters.

“On checking our records, we discovered that in
January 2009, Mr Bako had a case to answer with (the) NIS, and our
investigations showed that he was travelling with some girls and when
interrogated, he said they were his helpmates,” he said. “We suspected
very much a case of human trafficking and we have now decided that we
are going to hand them over to the appropriate statutory authority
which is NAPTIP (National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking In
Persons).”

Suspect refutes

Reacting to the allegations, the Edo State chieftain
disclosed that he was in possession of the official passport owing to
his high status in the state, as he argued that he was nabbed because
he refuse to give the officers money.

“I am in possession of an official passport because I
am a first class chief in Edo State. It was not given to me by anybody;
it is by the federal government and I can’t travel without the
knowledge of the federal government,” he said. “It is because I refused
to part with some money at the airport that is why they said they are
going to deal with me.”

Meanwhile, the Immigration Service boss gave the names of the girls
travelling with the suspected human trafficking chief as Queen
Ebiredelu, 22, a student of Edo State polytechnic; and Egharevba Helen,
22, an alleged maid to the chief.