The police have rescued nine children suspected to be victims of child trafficking and arrested two suspects in separate operations in Niger State.
The state command’s spokesperson, Wasiu Abiodun, a superintendent of police, said the arrests were made by operatives of the Madalla and Kpakungu police divisions.
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Mr Abiodun said officers on patrol along the Madalla–Suleja road intercepted a vehicle conveying six girls aged between seven and 13 years.
The driver, identified as Dauda Ayuba of Senchi village in Paikoro Local Government Area, was arrested on suspicion of child trafficking.
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Mr Abiodun said preliminary investigations showed that the suspect travelled from Benin City, Edo State, to Niger at the request of a woman identified as Iyee and two other accomplices currently at large to pick up the children.
He said the suspect confessed to receiving N194,000 for transportation and logistics and admitted that the children were to be engaged as domestic workers, salesgirls and other forms of child labour for financial gain.
According to the police, the suspect deceived the children’s parents by claiming he was taking them to school.
During interrogation, he allegedly admitted he would receive N10,000 as monthly commission for each child, while N20,000 would be paid as the monthly wage for each child.
The police said Mr Ayuba has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation, while the parents of the rescued children have been contacted.
In a separate operation, operatives of the Kpakungu Police Division arrested Mary Anthony, 37, in the Gurara area of Minna with three girls aged between eight and 10 years, suspected to be victims of child trafficking.
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The suspect claimed the children were handed over to her by their parents in Gbachiko Village, Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State because she had previously apprenticed with the elder sister of one of the victims.
However, the police said investigations uncovered inconsistencies in her account, noting that although she claimed she was taking the children to an orphanage in Suleja, she was intercepted in Minna instead.
The police said the suspect has also been transferred to the SCID for further investigation, while the three rescued children have been placed in protective custody and their parents contacted.
The police added that investigations were ongoing to apprehend other members of the suspected child trafficking syndicates and ensure they are prosecuted.
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