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By Tanimu Hassan, Abuja
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has rescued 26 children suspected of being trafficked in Benue State, North Central Nigeria.
Additionally, the agency has arrested the owner of the National Council of Child Rights Advocates of Nigeria (NACRAN) in connection with allegations of child trafficking, illegal adoption, and other activities prohibited by the agency.
This was contained in a Press Statement issued to journalists in Abuja the nation’s capital by the NAPTIP National Press Officer, Mr Vincent Adekoye
The statement reads “In a breakthrough led by Operatives of the Agency, Markudi Command the State capital, the Agency rescued 26 children, out of the over 300 suspected to have been trafficked within Benue, Enugu, Lagos, Nasarawa, and Abuja, while about 274 others are still being traced, as investigations intensify to unravel the full extent of the syndicate’s activities.”
The Agency also arrested a 34-year-old female accomplice, and two other Orphanage operators in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, and Nasarawa State, where some allegedly trafficked children were recovered.
“The development of the arrest came barely a few weeks after the Director General of NAPTIP, Binta Adamu Bello, expressed concern over the unwholesome activities of some operators of Orphanages in Nigeria and called on the various States ministries of Women Affairs to beam searchlights on the Orphanage Centers to checkmate their operations.”
“The Operation by the Agency is a continuation of the renewed crackdown on Orphanages and Care Homes across the Country ordered by the Director General of NAPTIP following a series of reported cases of alleged infractions and illegal activities by the operators of Orphanages in Nigeria.”
This prompted a petition to NAPTIP, leading to the arrest of several suspects and the uncovering of a wider network involved in trafficking and illegal adoption of children.
Speaking on the development, Bello described the situation as unbelievable and mind-bending. “Arising from the case at hand, I wish to say that issues of child trafficking and adoption are becoming a national crisis that requires urgent attention from all relevant stakeholders.
“A few weeks ago, based on credible intelligence, I expressed concern and alerted the State Ministries of Women Affairs on the unpatriotic and illegal activities of some Orphanage Operators across the Country.
“It is painful that some unpatriotic elements with recognized entities and status, now use their social class to deceive the vulnerable people in the crisis-prone communities, traffic their children, most of whom narrowly escape death in the wake of communal or farmer–herder clashes, and sell them to challenged parents in the name of adoption without the valid legal consent of the parents” he said.