14 children trafficked from Adamawa State and sold in Anambra State for amounts ranging from N800,000 to N1.7 million have been rescued by Adamawa State Government.
On Wednesday, August 20, the Adamawa State government reunited the rescued children with their parents at a ceremony in Yola, the Adamawa state capital.
Speaking during the ceremony, Kaletapwa George Farauta, Adamawa deputy governor, said after numerous reports of missing children in July, the government set up a joint operation with security agencies to unravel the situation.
Farauta said the operation led to the arrest of one Ngozi Abdulwahab, a suspected trafficking kingpin, who operates a small provision shop in Jambutu Ward, Yola north LGA.
The deputy governor said the suspect reportedly used snacks and gifts to lure children between the ages of 4-9 before trafficking them to Anambra.
“It is a mixed feeling of sadness and joy, it is sad that today, Adamawa is on the map of an unfortunate monster ravaging the nation, the monster of child trafficking,” she said.
“This is a story we often hear happening far away, but unfortunately, it has caught up with us.
“This notorious trafficker has perfected the art of trafficking minors aged four to nine years from various communities in Adamawa to the south-eastern region of Nigeria.
“There, she sold the victims for paltry sums ranging from N800,000 to N1.7 million per child.
“She operated from a small provision shop which she owned at Jambutu ward, Yola-North LGA, where she used snacks and gifts to lure unsuspecting children.
“Today, we have rescued 14 children and rehabilitated them.”
The deputy governor said the suspects would be prosecuted under the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act 2015, Adamawa Child Protection Law (2008), the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law 2021, and the Penal Code of the state.
She added that the family of each rescued child would receive N100,000, food, and non-food items.
