A convicted human trafficker, Uadiale Christiana Jacob, also known by her aliases Christy Evan Osagie and Christy Gold, was apprehended on December 31, 2024, by officers of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
Jacob, who had been on the run for over five years, was arrested by operatives of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) after her arrival from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where she had been evading justice. She was identified during routine checks upon her return to Nigeria to celebrate the New Year with family and friends.
The arrest marks the culmination of a long-running manhunt. Jacob had been charged with human trafficking in 2020 at the Federal High Court in Asaba, Delta State, and was granted bail. However, she absconded to Dubai, resulting in her conviction in absentia on March 21, 2024. Sentencing had been pending her re-arrest.
Vincent Adekoya, NAPTIP’s Press Officer, confirmed that Jacob was a senior member of a human trafficking syndicate operating across the Middle East, with its base in Dubai. The group, notorious for recruiting and exploiting young Nigerian girls, remains under investigation.
Adekoya also noted that several of Jacob’s accomplices, including Michael Nduka, Osas Wiseman, Vivian, and a certain Prophet John based in Lagos, remain at large. He praised the collaboration between NAPTIP, the NIS, the Attorney General of the Federation, INTERPOL Nigeria, and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), which was instrumental in Jacob’s capture.
In a statement, NAPTIP’s Director General, Binta Adamu Bello, commended the NIS for their swift action and highlighted the agency’s commitment to bringing human traffickers to justice. She further emphasized that this arrest sends a strong message to other members of the international trafficking syndicate still at large, stating, “They can only hide for a while, but never forever.”
Jacob will now face sentencing following her conviction, as NAPTIP intensifies efforts to track down her accomplices and dismantle the trafficking network.
