Wanted Nigerian female 'leader of international trafficking ring' arrested

Uadiale Christiana Jacob, a convicted leader of an international human trafficking network, was arrested by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.

Africa Parrot correspondent gathered that Jacob was arrested on December 31, 2024.

Jacob, who is also known by the alias Christy Gold, had been evading arrest for five years and is wanted for trafficking Nigerian girls to Dubai for forced prostitution.

According to a statement from the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Jacob had been on the agency’s watchlist since February 2023, after authorities received intelligence about her activities. She was apprehended on her arrival in Nigeria from Dubai, where her criminal network operated across the Middle East, particularly in the United Arab Emirates.

“Her suspected other accomplices, one Michael Nduka, Osas Wiseman, Vivian, and a certain Prophet John in Lagos along with others are field officers who assist in the recruitment and subsequent transfer of victims to Christy Gold, and are still on the run,” said NAPTIP Press Officer Vincent Adekoye.

Jacob’s trafficking activities date back to at least 2020, when NAPTIP shared intelligence with the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) regarding her involvement in the exploitation of underage Nigerian girls for sex trafficking in Dubai. On October 13, 2020, she was arrested by NAPTIP in Benin City, Edo State, for her role in the trafficking scheme. She was subsequently charged in a Delta State court, but violated bail conditions and absconded to Dubai.

“To get Christiana Uadiale Jacob to face justice for her crimes, NAPTIP sought the assistance and collaboration of the Honourable Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, National Central Bureau (NCB), INTERPOL Nigeria, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and the United Arab Emirates Police for her arrest and extraction to Nigeria,” Adekoye added.

Despite her attempts to evade justice, Jacob was convicted in absentia for human trafficking in March 2024 by the Federal High Court in Asaba, Delta State. A bench warrant had been issued for her arrest after she repeatedly failed to appear in court. Her re-arrest at the Abuja airport marks a significant breakthrough in the battle against human trafficking in Nigeria.

“Luck however ran out on her on the 31st of December 2024, as officers from the Nigeria Immigration Service, acting in respect of NAPTIP’s request for watchlisting dated February 22, 2023, nabbed her on arrival to Nigeria,” NAPTIP confirmed.

Jacob’s arrest is expected to pave the way for further investigation and the dismantling of her criminal network, which has exploited vulnerable young Nigerian girls for prostitution in foreign countries.