The Nigeria Police Force has rescued a 24-year-old Ghanaian national from a human trafficking syndicate and arrested five suspects in Ofada, Ogun State.
The operation was conducted by operatives of the INTERPOL Annex, Force Criminal Investigation Department, Alagbon, Lagos, following a request from INTERPOL Accra.
Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Benjamin Hundeyin, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, noting that the suspects include both Nigerian and Ghanaian nationals.
According to the police, the victim and his father were allegedly lured into Nigeria in July 2025 by one Hassana Abban, a 25-year-old Ghanaian woman residing in Ofada, under the guise of facilitating travel to Canada. Abban allegedly collected 40,000 cedis (about ₦4.96m) for the fake travel arrangements.
Upon arrival in Nigeria, their passports and mobile phones were seized, and they were coerced into activities linked to fraudulent online trading platforms.Following INTERPOL Accra’s request on September 15, 2025, a special police team tracked and rescued the victim on September 16 in Ogun State.
The operation also led to the arrest of Abban and four accomplices: Odubuasi David (Nigerian), Yahaya Salifu (Ghanaian), Sherifa Haruna (Ghanaian), and Ebenezer Ofosu (Ghanaian).“All five suspects are in custody, and further investigations are ongoing.
The rescued victims have since been reunited with their families in Ghana,” Hundeyin said.Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, commended the operatives for their professionalism and reaffirmed the Force’s commitment to regional collaboration against human trafficking and transnational crime.
This rescue follows similar breakthroughs in recent months. In August 2025, police in Akwa Ibom freed 20 Ghanaians trafficked into Uyo, while in July, another Ghanaian victim, Sammed Iddrisu, was rescued in Abuja after being deceived with a promise of foreign employment.
