By Prosper Mene
A 56-year-old Nigerian-Australian woman, Binta Abubakar, was arrested by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) at Brisbane Airport on Tuesday, June 11, 2025, for allegedly trafficking 15 Papua New Guinean (PNG) students and forcing them into unpaid farm labor under the guise of educational scholarships. The arrest follows a two-year investigation by the AFP’s Northern Command Human Trafficking Team, initiated in July 2022 after a tip-off from Queensland Police.
Abubakar, a dual citizen primarily based in PNG, allegedly lured the students, aged 19 to 35, to Australia between March 2021 and July 2023 through her company, BIN Educational Services and Consulting. She promised fully funded scholarships but instead coerced the students into signing agreements to repay undisclosed costs for tuition, airfares, visas, insurance, and legal fees, placing them in significant debt. The victims were then forced to work on Queensland farms, including fruit farms in Lockyer Valley and Stanthorpe, often for 10 hours a day, seven days a week, in violation of their visa conditions. Some reportedly lived in oppressive conditions, including shipping containers.
The AFP alleges Abubakar collected the students’ wages and withheld them to repay their “debts,” threatening deportation or harm to their families in PNG if they resisted. The farmers employing the students were unaware of the trafficking scheme. Abubakar faces 31 charges, including four counts of human trafficking (maximum penalty: 12 years’ imprisonment), 14 counts of deceptive recruitment (seven years), and 13 counts of debt bondage (four years).
She appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday, June 12, 2025, and was granted conditional bail, with a court reappearance scheduled for September 19, 2025. AFP Detective Superintendent Adrian Telfer condemned the exploitation, emphasizing the vulnerability of foreign workers lured by false promises. “The AFP is committed to protecting those targeted by greed and profits,” Telfer said, urging the public to report suspected trafficking. The Australian Red Cross’s Support for Trafficked People Program is assisting victims, some of whom remain in Australia.
This case tails recent international efforts to combat Nigerian-linked trafficking networks, including the arrest of 13 suspected syndicate members in Germany and a key trafficker in Nigeria in 2024. Authorities believe there may be additional victims and are encouraging them to come forward.
