Two suspects attempting to traffick 16 children have been arrested by the Taraba state command of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
The commandant of the NSCDC in the state, Adamu Salihu, disclosed this in an interview with journalists on Saturday in Jalingo, the Taraba state capital.
Salihu said the suspects were arrested on Thursday at the Jalingo main motor park with the children heading to Benin city in Edo state.
He identified the suspects as Daniel Madin and Federation Markus.
The NSCDC added that the victims, aged between 10 and 16, comprised of five girls and 11 boys, were taken from Zing and Bali Local Government Area of the state.
According to Salihu, preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects were part of a syndicate that specialised in trafficking underage children, promising them a brighter future in Edo state.
He decried the rate at which parents abdicate the responsibilities of raising their children.
“How can one give birth to children and expect others to take responsibility for their feeding, clothing, education, and general well-being?” NAN quoted Salihu as saying.
“Most of the children taken from the state are sold into child labour and prostitution while others are used as materials for baby factories, organ harvesting, and money rituals.
“My concern is that all the victims of this heinous crime are children who are of school age, but forced to leave school by their parents and relatives even now that the Taraba government has made basic education free and compulsory for all children. This trend must stop immediately”, Salihu said.
The NSCDC commandant called on relevant stakeholders in the state to take adequate measures to end the rising trend of human trafficking.
The suspects and the rescued children have been handed over to officials of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for further investigation and prosecution.
Credit: NAN
