The Kano State Hisbah Board has arrested a 40-year-old man, identified as Umar Bala, for allegedly attempting to traffic three young women to Sierra Leone.

In a statement released on Monday, the Deputy Commander-General of Hisbah, Dr. Mujahideen Aminuddeen, said the arrest followed credible intelligence received by the board.

“We arrested the suspect while he was attempting to take three young women, all below the age of 20, to Sierra Leone, from where they were expected to proceed to European or Asian countries. Many of such victims end up in forced labour or even lose their lives,” Dr. Aminuddeen stated.

He added that the suspect and the three victims — two from Kano and one from Yobe State — have been handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for further investigation.

“We have handed them over to NAPTIP. Two of the girls are from Kano, while the third came from Yobe to join them,” he explained.

It will be recalled that on October 19, the Hisbah Board also arrested a 43-year-old man, Abubakar Fage, for allegedly attempting to traffic four women to Ghana, from where they were reportedly planning to cross into Europe.