NAPTIP explained that the arrests and rescues were part of heightened surveillance and border enforcement efforts, following a directive from its Director General, Binta Adamu Bello.

At least 20 foreign nationals have been rescued by operatives of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Osun, and Nasarawa States.

The team, which dismantled a transnational human trafficking syndicate operating within Nigeria and West Africa, also arrested three suspects during the operation, according to Vincent Adekoye, Press Officer of NAPTIP, in a statement on Friday.

He asserted that the coordinated sting operation targeted criminal hideouts and kingpins believed to be behind the smuggling and exploitation of victims trafficked from Equatorial Guinea and Togo into Nigeria.

The victims were reportedly subjected to severe forms of labour exploitation after being lured with false promises of lucrative jobs in Nigeria and onward travel to Europe.

NAPTIP explained that the arrests and rescues were part of heightened surveillance and border enforcement efforts, following a directive from its Director General, Binta Adamu Bello.

The agency has been intensifying its crackdown on transnational trafficking rings by reinforcing cooperation with sister security and intelligence agencies across Nigeria.

According to the statement, the victims were deceived into leaving their countries under the guise of secure job offers, only to be exploited and stripped of their identification documents upon arrival.

Their communications were also reportedly restricted by traffickers.

The statement reads in part: "During interviews, the victims said they were deceived by members of the syndicate with promises of high-paying jobs in Nigeria, while their documentation was being processed for onward journeys to different locations in Europe. However, they were subjected to various forms of labour exploitation upon arrival in Nigeria."

In a related development, NAPTIP, in partnership with the Nigerian embassy in Senegal, said it rescued a middle-aged Nigerian victim of human trafficking from Dakar.

"The victim (name withheld) arrived at NAPTIP's Lagos Command, Ikeja, a few hours ago after a close brush with death at the hands of heartless traffickers in one of Senegal's remote villages.

"She was deceived into travelling to Senegal with promises of a job as a hair stylist and make-up artist, only to discover that her boss, whom she referred to as 'Madam Rose,' was engaged in child and sex trafficking.

"She was subsequently forced into prostitution. When she refused to comply, her so-called employer confiscated her identification documents and threw her out, leaving her unable to move freely or return home.

"She was left stranded in Kidira, Senegal. She reported that her trafficker is diabolical and has been tormenting her mentally and emotionally to the point where her sanity is at risk. She is extremely distressed, and we fear for her life," said a relative in a petition to the Agency.

The Agency immediately reached out to the Nigerian Embassy in Dakar and other relevant partners, and she was rescued and brought back to Nigeria."

This brings the total number of victims rescued and received from neighbouring countries by NAPTIP in the past week to 21.