192 children trafficked, violated in Niger in eight months

The Niger State Child Rights Protection Agency has recorded 192 cases of child abuse and rights violations between November 2025 and June 2026.

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The cases include rape, maltreatment, trafficking, forced marriage, abandonment and denial of child maintenance.

The director-general of the agency, Ummul Mohammed, disclosed this in Minna, saying the cases were recorded in different parts of the state despite the agency’s operational challenges.

Ms Mohammed, who assumed office in November 2025, said the agency recorded 30 cases in November, 31 in February, 30 in March, 40 in April, 27 in May and 30 in June.

She said the cases included sexual abuse, missing children, child trafficking, domestic servitude, street hawking, forced marriage and children taken away under the guise of Islamic education.

According to her, the agency recently rescued 19 children working at mining sites, with the youngest aged about eight.

She said their parents were made to sign bonds of N5 million per child to prevent them from returning the children to mining activities.

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The agency, she added, had also rescued children allegedly trafficked for domestic work and facilitated the return of a missing child to her family outside the state.

Recent cases highlight growing concern

The disclosure comes amid several reported cases involving children in Niger State.

In July 2026, the Niger State Police Command said it rescued nine children, aged between seven and 13, suspected to be victims of trafficking and arrested two suspects in separate operations.

The police said six girls were intercepted along the Madalla-Suleja road while allegedly being transported for trafficking.

In June, police also reported the rescue of four children aged four to seven in Suleja and the arrest of two suspected child traffickers.

In June 2026, a senior magistrate’s court in Minna sentenced four men to a combined 95 years in prison for gang-raping a 13-year-old girl in Kontagora, an assault that resulted in her pregnancy.

Earlier, in January 2024, a 55-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment for sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl in Rafi Local Government Area.

The state has also faced a wider gender-based violence problem. The Niger State Ministry of Women Affairs reported more than 1,000 rape and gender-based violence cases between January and July 2025, including the reported rape of a nine-year-old girl by her father.

Agency seeks stronger community action

Ms Mohammed attributed the persistence of child abuse partly to poverty and lack of awareness, saying some parents send children away as domestic workers because they cannot afford their upkeep.

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She said the agency had intensified sensitisation in schools and communities and urged teachers, traditional rulers, parents and other stakeholders to report suspected abuse.

The director-general also disclosed that the agency had abolished charges for filing complaints, allowing victims and complainants to report cases without payment.

She, however, identified inadequate vehicles and logistics as major challenges, particularly in reaching vulnerable children and communities across the state.

Ms Mohammed said several rape and attempted rape cases were already before the courts, assuring that the agency would continue to pursue prosecution against individuals found violating children’s rights.

She called for stronger collaboration among government agencies, traditional institutions, local councils, civil society organisations and communities to protect children across Niger State.