NAPTIP Arrests Wanted Notorious Human Trafficker In Abuja
Uadiale Christiana Jacob, also known as Christy Gold, a convicted socialite and head of an international human trafficking network operating in the Middle East, was arrested in Abuja on December 31, 2024. The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) confirmed that Jacob, who had been on their wanted list for five years, was apprehended by officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport after arriving from Dubai to celebrate the New Year.
Christy Gold is alleged to be a senior figure in a syndicate involved in recruiting, trafficking, and sexually exploiting underage Nigerian girls in Dubai. She had been on the run after violating her bail terms following an earlier arrest by NAPTIP in 2020. Despite efforts to evade justice, she was convicted in absentia for her crimes related to human trafficking in March 2024.
NAPTIP had worked in collaboration with the Minister of Justice, INTERPOL, the NIS, the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), and UAE authorities to secure her arrest. The convict’s accomplices, including Michael Nduka, Osas Wiseman, and others, remain at large.
Following her arrest, NAPTIP’s Director General, Binta Adamu Bello, praised the NIS for their role in apprehending Jacob, stressing the importance of inter-agency cooperation in tackling human trafficking. She warned other members of the syndicate still on the run that their time would come. Bello reaffirmed NAPTIP’s commitment to continuing the fight against human trafficking, promising to intensify efforts in 2025 to protect Nigerians from exploitation and violence.
