The police in Benue State have intercepted three mini buses moving in a convoy and loaded with 55 trafficked children, including ten girls and seven boys, while on stop-and-search duty along Otukpo-Enugu Expressway.
Seven suspected human traffickers were also arrested during the operation. They are Adekunle Adebisi, Odeh Adogu, Ochefu Adakole, Edwin Onah, John Odum, Ubeh Mike and Philip Adema. The suspect said they were taking the children to Lagos, Abeokuta and Ibadan.
The command has also arrested a couple, Mr and Mrs. Yamuer Maashin from Katsina-Ala local government, for alleged criminal conspiracy and trafficking in persons.
Parading the suspected traffickers and the children in Makurdi yesterday, commissioner of police, Adams Audu, said the three buses and 55 children were intercepted by the police at about 1pm while the couple was arrested on June 19, 2013, after a tip-off.
According to Audu, “the suspects confessed to have taken the children from Oju LGA of Benue and Yala LGA of Cross River states for undisclosed missions. These children were discovered to have been taken away from their parents by the suspects and are to be given out to strangers who will subject them to child labour, prostitution and hawking in return for money to both parents and the suspected traffickers who take the trade as their means of livelihood.”
He said the couple was arrested when an assistant director of Hands That Care Foundation, Mrs. Nworie Nwakaego Jacinta, saw 6-year-old Miss Nguwasen Najime naked with a big growth on her anus begging along Badagry expressway in Lagos. The police were alerted and investigation into the case led to the arrest of the couple.
Audu reiterated the commitment of his command to protecting lives and property in Benue and appealed to the public as well as government agencies to assist the police in reducing crime.
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